Energy is a very important resource for the development of the country.  Energy for irrigation is a significant requirement comprising 18 and 28 % of the electricity usage at the national and state levels respectively. With the advent of renewable energy there is much discussion on the supply systems but very little work on untapped potential in inefficiencies on the usage side. In our group we fill that gap, largely in the irrigation energy sector. This talk provides an overview of that work: the research, its applications, and modes of engagement with various societal actors.Specific topics we have worked on are (i) Energy-water-food nexus (ii) Energy Estimation tool for local power distribution capacity planning based on cropping  (iii) Optimizing regional networks (iv) Demand side management at the local level - including capacitor usage, load management at the Distribution Transformer (DT), and appropriate pump selection (v) Comparison of sources of energy and supply paradigms (vi) Demand modeling.In the talk we will pick three of the above topics and show how societal concerns map to technical investigations and how the solutions map back into policies and practices for the stakeholders. We also show how they integrate skills from engineering, planning, societal enquiry, and public administration.This work is being introduced into government processes through various modes. The Energy Estimation tool was introduced through PoCRA (Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture, Dept. of Agri., Gov. of Maha.) into the departmental planning processes via Agricultural Assistants. The learnings from various projects are being incorporated into programs for Electrical Engineering students through Unnat Maharashtra Abhiyan, a program to connect education to development problems and state agencies.