PEER — A tool to design, measure and monitor the performance of smart grid

India is world's third largest producer of electricity with an installed capacity of 306 GW. However, the per capita electricity consumption in India continues to be well below the world average despite lower electricity tariffs. The nation has a long history of demand-supply shortages on a regular basis. The electricity distribution sector is also under poor financial condition. With an energy mix dominated by fossil fuel based generation, Indian power sector has a significant impact on environment. Thus, for sustainable development of the power sector, it is important to have in place a framework to measure, monitor and improve performance of power systems. PEER (Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal) is a tool for utilities and system operators for a comprehensive performance assessment of their system and for making subsequent improvements to achieve upper levels of performance. This paper highlights some of the key features of the PEER framework that focus on assessment of environmental impact and reliability performance of power systems. A comparison between projects in the United States of America (USA) and India is also presented to identify performance gaps.