Reforms in Power Sector
New Chairperson assumes office at Appellate
Tribunal for Electricity
Mrs. Ranjana Prakash Desai, former Judge of
Supreme Court has taken over the charge of Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for
Electricity, New Delhi today. She was administered the Oath of Office and
Secrecy in the presence of other members and officers of the Tribunal and
office bearers of Energy Bar Association, APTEL.
Mrs. Ranjana Prakash Desai had already served
Supreme Court as a Judge for about three years prior to this assignment. She was
initially elevated as a judge of High Court of Mumbai.
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Planning to Reduce Dependence on Coal for Power
Generation
To reduce the emission of green-house gases and
to also reduce dependence on coal, a low carbon growth strategy has been
adopted in the planning process and the highest priority is being accorded to
the development of electricity generation based on hydro, nuclear and renewable
sources of energy to the extent possible. This was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal,
Minister of state for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (Independent
Charge) in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
However, the rising demand of electricity cannot
be met alone with power generation from these sources. Hence, a mix of coal,
hydro, renewable and nuclear sources is planned to meet the rising demand of
power in the country, the Minister added.
The Minister further informed that the to
increase the share of renewables, in addition to the generation capacity
addition target of 88,537 MW from conventional sources, the capacity addition
of about 30,000 MW has been planned from Renewable sources during 12th Five
Year Plan. The cumulative installed capacity of renewable power is expected to
be 55,000 MW by March 2017.
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24x7 Power Supply
Electricity is a concurrent subject. Supply and
distribution of electricity to various consumers in a State / UT is within the
purview of the respective State Government / State Power Utility. The Central
Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments in providing 24X7
electricity supply to all consumers by establishing power plants and
transmission systems in Central Sector through Central Power Sector
Undertakings (CPSUs). This was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of state
for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) in a
written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The Minister further stated that the Government
of India has now taken initiative to prepare Action Plans for all the States /
UTs for providing 24X7 Power For All (PFA) in partnership with the States/UTs.
To begin with, State specific documents for the State of Andhra Pradesh and
Rajasthan have been prepared and action for preparation of State specific
documents in respect of other States/UTs has been initiated, the Minister
added.
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Reforms in Power Sector
The Government has formulated various schemes for reforms in power
sector in the country. This was stated by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Minister of state
for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge) in a
written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The Schemes launched for betterment and reforms
in power sector are as follows :
1.
Restructured Accelerated Power Development Programme (R-APDRP):
Re-structured APDRP was approved as Central
Sector Scheme on 31.07. 2008 with total outlay of Rs. 51,577 crores for IT
enablement & strengthening of distributions sector. The focus of the
programme is urban areas – towns and cities with population of more than 30,000 (10,000 for special category
states).
Projects under the scheme are taken up in two
parts. Part-A is for establishing IT enabled system for energy accounting /
auditing and SCADA for big cities (population: 4 lacs and Annual Energy Input:
350MU) whereas Part-B is for regular distribution up-gradation & strengthening
projects. Initially funds for projects under both the parts would be provided
through loan. The entire amount of loan for Part-A projects would be converted
into grant on the completion of the project and up-to 50% (90% for special
category States) loan of Part-B projects would be converted into grant on
achieving the 15% AT&C loss in the project area on a sustainable basis. The
completion period for both Part-A and Part-B projects are five years from the
sanction date.
Projects worth Rs.39,252 crores covering 1412
towns have been sanctioned under the programme and are at various level of
implementation.
2.
National Electricity Fund (NEF):
Government of India launched the National
Electricity Fund (Interest Subsidy Scheme) in July, 2012 to provide Interest
Subsidy on loans raised by both Public & Private Distribution Companies
(Discoms), for capital works sanctioned by financial institutions to improve
the infrastructure in Distribution Sector during the FY 2012-13 & 2013-14. The
National Electricity Fund would provide interest subsidy aggregating Rs.8,466
crores spread over 14 years of loan disbursement amounting to Rs.25,000 crores for Distribution Schemes sanctioned
during the 2 years viz., 2012-13 & 2013-14.
The pre-conditions for eligibility are linked to reform measures taken
by the States and the amount of interest subsidy is linked to the progress
achieved in reforms link parameters.
3.
FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING PLAN (FRP):
The scheme for Financial Restructuring of State
owned Discoms was notified by Ministry of Power vide OM dated 05-10-2012 after
CCEA approval to enable the turnaround of the State Discoms and ensure their
long term viability. The scheme contains measures to be taken by the State
Discoms and State Government for achieving financial turnaround by
restructuring their debt with support through a Transitional Finance Mechanism
by Central Government.
Central Government provides incentive by way of grant equal to
the value of the additional energy saved by way of accelerated AT&C loss
reduction beyond the loss trajectory specified under RAPDRP and capital reimbursement
support of 25% of principal repayment by the State Government on the liability
taken over by the State Government under the scheme. Bonds amounting to
Rs.56,908 crores have been issued by the Discoms and STL amounting to Rs.51,204
Crores have been rescheduled by lenders in the participating states.
4.
Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs):
Ministry of Power launched an initiative in
2005-06 to facilitate the development of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) each
having a capacity of 4,000 MW and above, at both the coal pitheads and coastal
locations. These projects are awarded to developers selected through
international competitive bidding process by following the Guidelines notified
by Ministry of Power, GoI under section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Four
UMPPs (Sasan, Mundra, Krishnapatnam and Tilaiya) have been awarded so far to
developers.
The entire investment in the projects is to be made by the developers
and no funds of Government are involved in the development of these projects.
5.
Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs):
Ministry of Power has initiated a scheme for
development of Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs) through private sector
participation for evacuation of power from the Generating Stations,
Transmission of power from pooling stations to other grid stations up to load
centers and system strengthening in India under tariff based competitive
bidding route under Section-63 of the Electricity Act, 2003. For the
development of ITPs, PFC Consulting Limited (PFCCL) and REC Transmission
Projects Company Ltd (RECTPL) have been appointed as ‘Bid Process Coordinator’
by Ministry of Power, Govt. of India.
The entire investment in the projects is to be
made by the developers and no funds of Government are involved in the
development of these projects.
6.
Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS):
The Government has approved the Scheme of
“Integrated Power Development Scheme" (IPDS) with the objectives of:
1.
Strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution network in the urban
areas;
2.
Metering of distribution transformers /feeders / consumers in the urban
areas.
3. IT
enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network as
per CCEA approval dated 21.06.2013 for completion of targets laid down under
Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) for
12th and 13th Plans by carrying forward the approved outlay for RAPDRP to IPDS.
The scheme will help in reduction in AT&C
losses, establishment of IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system,
improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in
collection efficiency.
The estimated cost of the present scheme with the
components of strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks,
including metering of consumers in the urban areas is Rs. 32,612 crore which
includes the requirement of budgetary support from Government of India of Rs.
25,354 crore over the entire implementation period.
The component of IT enablement of distribution
sector and strengthening of distribution network approved by CCEA in June, 2013
in the form of RAPDRP for 12th and 13th Plans is subsumed in this scheme and
CCEA-approved scheme outlay of Rs.44,011 crore including a budgetary support of
Rs. 22,727 crore is be carried over to the new scheme of IPDS.
7.
Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana(DDUGJY):
The Government has approved the Scheme of
“Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)“ with components (i) to
separate agriculture and non agriculture feeders facilitating judicious
roistering of supply to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in rural
areas and (ii) strengthening and augmentation of sub transmission and
distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering of distribution
transformers/feeders/consumers.
The
estimated cost of the scheme for above two components is Rs.43,033 crore which
includes the requirement of budgetary support of Rs.33,453 crore from
Government of India over the entire implementation period. In addition to this, the ongoing scheme of
RGGVY in 12th and 13th Plans is subsumed in DDUGJY as a distinct component for
rural electrification, for which Government has already approved to carry
forward the balance amount of Rs.29,574 crore.
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