Profiles of the Commission and Secretary (GERC)

Shri Pankaj Joshi (Retired Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat) assumed charge as the Hon’ble Chairperson of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission on 11 December 2025 (BN).

He possesses a distinguished academic background, holding a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Civil Engineering and a Master of Technology (M.Tech) in Water Resources Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. He has further enriched his academic credentials by completing an M.Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies, reflecting his broad-based intellectual foundation.

An officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), 1989 batch, Shri Joshi has had an illustrious career spanning over three decades in public administration. During his service, he held several senior leadership positions and made significant contributions to policy formulation and governance at both the State and Central Government levels. His work encompassed a wide range of sectors, including Land Revenue, Personnel and General Administration, Education, Finance, Energy & Petrochemicals, Ports & Transport, Social Welfare, Tribal Affairs, and Urban Development.

He served as Additional Chief Secretary to the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Gujarat, from September 2021 to January 2025, followed by his tenure as Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, from January 2025 to October 2025, marking the culmination of his distinguished administrative career.

In addition to his governmental responsibilities, Shri Joshi has been actively associated with the corporate and public sector ecosystem. He served as a Government-nominated Director and Chairman of the Board in several Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), providing strategic leadership in critical sectors such as Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution, Logistics, and Gas Transmission and Distribution.

Shri Joshi’s career is characterized by his unwavering commitment to public service, policy innovation, and sound corporate governance. His extensive administrative experience and strategic insight continue to make him a respected leader with a lasting impact on governance and the economic development landscape.

Shri Hiren Navinchandra Shah assumed charge as the Member of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission on 11 December 2025.

He is a senior power sector professional with over 35 years of rich, diverse and progressive experience in Gujarat’s electricity sector. Over the course of his career, he has worked across multiple functional domains including renewable energy development, power procurement and trading, grid operations, distribution and regulatory matters, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of the sector from policy to field-level implementation.

Shri Shah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and has also undergone various leadership and management development programmes relevant to the power and infrastructure sectors. His academic background, combined with extensive field and corporate experience, has enabled him to engage with technical, commercial and regulatory aspects of the electricity sector in an integrated manner.

Prior to joining the Commission, Shri Shah served as General Manager (Renewable Energy) at Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL). In this role, he was associated with planning, formulation and implementation of the State’s renewable energy programmes. His work contributed to the expansion of renewable energy capacity in the State through structured, transparent and competitive procurement processes, aligned with prevailing policies and regulatory frameworks.

During his tenure at GUVNL, Shri Shah was involved in formulation and implementation of renewable energy policies, regulatory compliance, competitive bidding processes, execution and management of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and structured stakeholder interactions. He also contributed to initiatives and reforms related to grid connectivity and renewable energy integration, with a focus on improving procedural clarity, timelines and system preparedness.

His professional experience further includes handling of conventional and renewable power procurement, short-term and medium-term power arrangements, and aspects of resource adequacy planning. He has exposure to optimisation of power procurement through power exchanges, as well as forecasting, scheduling and dispatch under the ABT framework, Demand Side Management (DSM) and system operations, providing him with practical insight into grid behaviour and operational constraints.

Shri Shah has also served in field and supervisory assignments at Sub-Division, Division and Circle levels. In these roles, he was involved in electricity distribution operations, customer service delivery, supervision of technical staff and resolution of operational issues, which strengthened his understanding of consumer-level challenges and service delivery mechanisms.

In addition, he has held technical and administrative positions as Executive Engineer and Superintending Engineer, where he contributed to procurement planning, safety initiatives, loss reduction measures and Ease of Doing Business reforms. He was also associated with legislative and policy-related matters at the Government level, gaining experience in regulatory processes and institutional coordination.

Shri Shah has been actively involved in capacity building and human resource development in the power sector. He has served as a full-time faculty at a power sector training institute, where he designed and delivered structured training programmes, developed course material and mentored officers from various power utilities, contributing to institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination.

He is a certified heartfulness meditation trainer for over 35 years, which has supported a balanced, disciplined and reflective approach to leadership, decision-making and public service.

As Member of the Commission, Shri Hiren Navinchandra Shah contributes to the discharge of the Commission’s statutory functions under the Electricity Act, 2003, including tariff determination, regulatory oversight of licensees, promotion of renewable energy, protection of consumer interests and facilitation of power sector reforms, drawing upon his extensive professional experience and sectoral understanding.