The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is a statutory organization and an "Attached Office" of the Ministry of Power. It was originally established as a part-time body in 1951 under the erstwhile Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948. The CEA was made a full-time body in 1975, and its existence and functions were continued under the comprehensive Electricity Act, 2003. The CEA was created to provide technical and policy support to the government and stakeholders for the development and regulation of the electricity system.
The functions and duties of the CEA are primarily delineated under Section 73 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Its core mechanism involves advising the Central Government on the national electricity policy and formulating short-term and perspective plans for the electricity system. The CEA is mandated to prepare and notify the National Electricity Plan once every five years. It also specifies technical standards for the construction of electrical plants, electric lines, and connectivity to the grid, as well as safety requirements. Furthermore, the concurrence of the CEA is required for any generating company intending to set up a hydro-generating station.
The CEA is closely connected to the Electricity Act, 2003 and works alongside the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), which handles economic and tariff regulation. Recently, the CEA has been updating its regulations to accommodate new technologies; for instance, it released draft regulations in 2025 to include a new chapter on Renewable Energy Stations and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and proposed the Central Electricity Authority (Cyber Security in Power Sector) Regulations, 2025. A notable amendment was the notification of the Central Electricity Authority (Installation and Operation of Meters) Amendment Regulations, 2026 on April 1, 2026, which removed the mandatory requirement for smart meters to work in pre-payment mode.