Eastern Grid Emission Factor — Highest of 5 Indian Grids, FY 2024-25

Eastern grid emission factor — FY 2024-25

Per plant-level data from the CEA CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector Version 21.0 (published 2025-11-01, covering reporting year FY 2024-25), the Eastern regional grid emission factor computed by Batchwise is 0.9280 tCO₂/MWh. This is the highest computed emission factor among India’s five regional grids for FY 2024-25, driven by the coal-belt geography of Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and West Bengal. The Eastern grid covers 383 grid-connected power stations across five states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim), with net generation of 502,483 GWh and absolute emissions of 466.3 million tCO₂ for the year.

Provenance note: Regional grid emission factors are not directly published in CEA V21.0. The figure above is computed by Batchwise by aggregating plant-level data from the CEA V21.0 Data sheet, mapping each plant to its applicable regional grid per CEA’s standard five-grid classification (Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern, North-Eastern), and computing: total regional emissions (million tCO₂) ÷ total regional net generation (million MWh). This is a transparent aggregation, not an independently CEA-published figure.

Latest factor in context — all five emission factor variants

The table below shows the key emission factor variants for CEA V21.0 at the all-India level (CEA-published) alongside the Eastern grid computed factor, to support methodology selection. The Eastern grid does not have independently published OM/BM/CM variants — only the computed weighted-average factor is available at regional resolution.

Metric	Value	Source
Eastern grid computed emission factor (FY 2024-25)	0.9280 tCO₂/MWh	Computed by Batchwise from CEA V21.0 plant data
All-India weighted-avg grid EF (incl. RES + Captive)	0.7117 tCO₂/MWh	CEA V21.0 published (Results sheet)
All-India Simple Operating Margin (OM)	0.9646 tCO₂/MWh	CEA V21.0 published
All-India Build Margin (BM)	0.5119 tCO₂/MWh	CEA V21.0 published
All-India Combined Margin (CM)	0.7383 tCO₂/MWh	CEA V21.0 published

For corporate Scope 2 accounting under the GHG Protocol location-based method, the weighted-average grid emission rate (incl. RES + Captive) is commonly applied — the all-India figure for multi-region entities, or the computed regional figure for entities with geographically concentrated operations in the Eastern grid. The Operating Margin (OM), Build Margin (BM), and Combined Margin (CM) — terms from CDM methodology ACM0002 / Ver 22.0 and the UNFCCC Tool to Calculate the Emission Factor for an Electricity System, Version 7.0 — are used primarily in project-based carbon accounting (CDM/VCS), not in standard corporate Scope 2 reporting.

3-year trend — Eastern grid computed emission factor

The Eastern grid factor has moved as follows across the three CEA editions for which Batchwise has computed regional breakdowns:

Reporting year	Eastern grid EF (tCO₂/MWh)	Year-on-year movement	Plants in CEA data
2022-23	0.8885	baseline	260
2023-24	0.8947	+0.7%	262
2024-25	0.9280	+3.7%	383

The Eastern grid trend moves counter to the all-India trajectory (which declined 2.4% in 2024-25). Three factors explain the Eastern grid increase:

1. Higher coal plant load factors in the region. Jharkhand and Odisha coal stations — including NTPC’s Talcher Thermal Power Station (Odisha) and NTPC Farakka and NTPC Kahalgaon (West Bengal/Bihar border) — operated at higher PLFs in 2024-25, increasing the weight of high-emission coal output in the regional mix.
2. Significant plant-count expansion under CEA reporting. The Eastern grid plant count jumped from 262 in 2023-24 to 383 in 2024-25, reflecting CEA’s expanded reporting boundary for V21.0. New plants captured in this expansion are predominantly coal-heavy, pulling the weighted factor upward.
3. Minimal new renewable capacity in the emission calculation. Unlike the Southern or Northern grids — where solar and wind additions meaningfully diluted the emission factor — the Eastern grid saw limited large-scale renewable additions that would reduce the emission intensity for FY 2024-25.

This upward trend has material implications for entities with operations concentrated in the Eastern grid: each successive year’s BRSR Core Scope 2 disclosure is likely to reflect a higher location-based emission intensity, not a lower one, absent major new renewable additions to the regional grid.

Generation mix — Eastern grid FY 2024-25

The generation mix table below is derived from per-state fuel-mix data in CEA V21.0, weighted by each state’s net generation contribution to the Eastern grid.

State	Net generation (GWh)	Dominant fuel mix (thermal share)	State EF (tCO₂/MWh)
West Bengal	176,922	Coal 97.1%	0.9712
Odisha	139,303	Coal 91.2%	0.8519
Bihar	109,591	Coal 99.8%	0.9613
Jharkhand	72,662	Coal 99.4%	0.9694
Sikkim	4,005	Hydro (zero thermal reported)	—
Eastern grid total	502,483	Coal dominant (~92–93% of thermal mix)	0.9280

Key observations from the mix:

• West Bengal is the largest contributor (35% of Eastern grid net generation), and at 97.1% coal, it anchors the grid’s high emission character. West Bengal’s generation includes output from CESC-operated Budge Budge and Titagarh stations serving Kolkata, as well as NTPC Farakka and state DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) coal stations.
• Odisha’s lower state-level EF (0.8519) relative to the other Eastern states reflects its hydro and renewable generation share (8.8% of Odisha’s own thermal mix is non-coal), including OHPC hydro plants. Odisha hosts NTPC Talcher — one of the largest coal station clusters in India — but the presence of hydro dilutes its state-level factor below that of Bihar or West Bengal.
• Sikkim’s hydro contribution (4,005 GWh at zero emission) has a small downward effect on the Eastern grid aggregate. At ~0.8% of total Eastern net generation, Sikkim is the only zero-emission contributor to the grid.
• Bihar and Jharkhand are nearly 100% coal, reflecting their lack of significant hydro or renewable installed capacity in the CEA plant universe for FY 2024-25.

States covered — regional context

Bihar is a net power-deficit state undergoing significant industrial growth and load expansion. Bihar’s thermal generation is effectively all-coal (99.8% per CEA V21.0 plant data), with state DISCOMs drawing heavily from NTPC allocation and central sector power. Bihar’s generation mix is the most coal-concentrated of the five Eastern states.

Jharkhand sits at the geographic heart of India’s coal belt. Its generation profile reflects direct proximity to major coalfields (Jharia, North Karanpura) and hosts multiple NTPC central-sector stations allocated to Eastern grid offtake. The state’s computed EF of 0.9694 tCO₂/MWh is the highest single-state factor in the Eastern grid for FY 2024-25, reflecting the almost exclusively coal-fired character of its grid-connected generation.

Odisha has a more diversified generation portfolio than its Eastern grid neighbours. NTPC Talcher Thermal Power Station (Talcher, Odisha) is among the largest coal stations in India by installed capacity, but Odisha also operates OHPC (Odisha Hydro Power Corporation) assets and has growing renewable capacity. Its computed state EF (0.8519) is notably lower than Bihar, Jharkhand, or West Bengal as a result.

West Bengal combines coal-belt generation (DVC stations, NTPC Farakka, WBPDCL state thermal stations) with Kolkata’s urban industrial load served by CESC. At 97.1% coal, West Bengal is the second-most coal-concentrated Eastern state by fuel mix. The state’s computed EF of 0.9712 is the highest of the five Eastern states.

Sikkim is small (4,564 MW installed capacity per CEA V21.0, predominantly hydro) and contributes 4,005 GWh to the Eastern grid at zero reported thermal emissions. Sikkim’s hydro-dominant character provides a modest offset to the Eastern grid’s coal intensity — but at ~0.8% of total Eastern grid net generation, its impact on the aggregate regional factor is limited.

Comparison to other Indian regional grids

The Eastern grid’s 0.9280 tCO₂/MWh for FY 2024-25 is the highest of the five regional grids and sits substantially above the all-India weighted-average of 0.7117 tCO₂/MWh.

Regional grid	Computed EF 2024-25 (tCO₂/MWh)	States covered	Character
Eastern Grid	0.9280	Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim	Coal-belt dominant — highest of 5
Western Grid	0.8900	Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Goa	Coal-heavy industrial; some gas
Southern Grid	0.8086	AP, Karnataka, Kerala, TN, Telangana, Puducherry, Lakshadweep	Coal + growing RE; hydro in Karnataka/Kerala
Northern Grid	0.7335	J&K, HP, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Ladakh	Mixed; large hydro (HP, UK, J&K) dilute
North-Eastern Grid	0.4285	Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal	Hydro-dominant; smallest grid
All-India weighted average	0.7117	All regions	CEA-published reference

The Eastern grid’s coal-belt geography is structural, not cyclical. The Gondwana coalfields spanning Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal concentrate India’s thermal power generation in this region. Unlike the Northern grid (which benefits from large-scale Himalayan hydro in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and J&K) or the South (where Karnataka and Kerala contribute significant hydro and Tamil Nadu has meaningful wind), the Eastern grid has limited natural endowment for non-thermal renewable baseload at scale. Entities operating in the Eastern grid face the highest location-based Scope 2 emission intensity of any Indian regional grid — a material disclosure consideration for BRSR Core GHG intensity reporting.

Scope 2 worked example — Eastern grid

For an entity with FY 2024-25 grid electricity consumption of 5,000 MWh from the Eastern grid (illustrative only — not representative of a typical entity):

Location-based method (per GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance):

Scope 2 emissions = consumption × Eastern grid emission factor
                  = 5,000 MWh × 0.9280 tCO₂/MWh
                  = 4,640 tCO₂e

Comparison — same consumption on all-India factor:

Scope 2 emissions = 5,000 MWh × 0.7117 tCO₂/MWh
                  = 3,559 tCO₂e

The difference — 1,082 tCO₂e on 5,000 MWh — illustrates the materiality of grid selection for Eastern-grid-concentrated entities. Using the all-India factor when operations are primarily in the Eastern grid would understate location-based Scope 2 emissions by approximately 30% relative to the regional factor.

Market-based method note: If the entity has procured electricity through PPAs or renewable energy certificates (RECs) backed by zero-emission renewable sources, the market-based calculation uses the contractual emission factor (zero for qualifying RE instruments). The GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance requires entities to disclose both location-based and market-based figures where market-based instruments are used. The Eastern grid’s high location-based factor makes the gap between location-based and market-based figures particularly wide for entities with meaningful RE procurement.

For the BRSR Core GHG emission intensity calculation, see the GHG emission intensity per revenue methodology page.

When to use the Eastern grid factor — BRSR Core context

Common practice patterns observed in BRSR / GHG inventory engagements for entities with Eastern grid exposure:

• Operations concentrated in Eastern grid states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim): the computed Eastern grid factor (0.9280 tCO₂/MWh for FY 2024-25) may be applied for location-based Scope 2 where the entity has documented its boundary at the regional level. This is the entity’s documented methodology call, not a SEBI-prescribed rule.
• Multi-region entity with material Eastern grid exposure: some entities apply the all-India weighted-average factor (0.7117 tCO₂/MWh) for simplicity while disclosing the Eastern regional factor as supplementary context — particularly where the Eastern grid’s high factor is decision-relevant (e.g., for a manufacturing entity evaluating facility-location impact on its GHG intensity KPI).
• Entity with material RE procurement in the Eastern grid: dual reporting is commonly observed — location-based using the Eastern grid factor + market-based using RE procurement contracts, per GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. The wide gap between the Eastern grid’s location-based factor and zero-emission RE instruments makes this dual disclosure particularly informative.
• Year-on-year comparability: the Eastern grid factor has been rising (0.8885 → 0.8947 → 0.9280 over three years). Entities should apply their chosen factor consistently across years and disclose the trend, rather than switching between all-India and regional factors across reporting periods.

The choice of factor, reporting year, and averaging convention is the entity’s documented methodology call. Apply consistently year-on-year and disclose in the methodology footnote of the BRSR submission. Refer to the latest applicable SEBI BRSR Core circular for the current assurance and disclosure scope.

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Where Batchwise fits (service description — separate from the regulatory data above)

The sections above describe the regulatory and authoritative data for the Eastern regional grid emission factor — content that any entity preparing a Scope 2 inventory or BRSR Core submission would reference regardless of tooling.

The section below describes Batchwise’s service in this workflow.

Batchwise is a workflow and data-preparation service layered over the BRSR / Scope 2 calculation framework — not part of the framework itself. The entity remains responsible for the BRSR submission, the Scope 2 inventory, and any sign-off; the partner CA firm remains responsible for the assurance opinion.

In practice, Batchwise’s role for entities applying the Eastern grid factor includes:

• Multi-location utility-bill aggregation — supporting structured aggregation of monthly utility bills across the entity’s Eastern-grid facility portfolio (Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim) for consistent Scope 2 calculation
• Methodology documentation support — supporting the entity’s methodology footnote (which factor variant, which reporting year, regional vs all-India boundary, which averaging convention)
• BRSR Core assurance coordination — operational support for partner CA firm engagement scoping and coordination, including Scope 2 verification under the GHG emission intensity per revenue KPI

The signed BRSR is the entity’s submission, signed by the entity’s authorised signatory under the entity’s authorised-signatory DSC. The assurance opinion is the partner CA firm’s, on the partner CA firm’s letterhead, under the partner CA firm’s signing partner’s DSC. The entity’s authorised signatory does not sign the assurance opinion.

Related reading

• CEA Grid Emission Factors (pillar) — methodology context for all CEA factor variants
• All-India weighted-average grid emission factor — the CEA-published national reference
• Regional factor pages: Northern, Western, Southern, North-Eastern
• State pages within Eastern grid: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim
• GHG Emission Intensity per Revenue — the BRSR Core attribute that consumes this factor
• NGRBC Principle 6 — Environment — the principle pillar
• Audit Evidence Documentation for BRSR — working-paper discipline including utility-bill evidence
• BRSR Core Assurance Service — engagement scope including Scope 2 verification