With the government planning to bring in a series of amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003, consumers will soon get the choice of selecting their power supply company.
Speaking at a CII event, Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal said reforms were being planned for the distribution sector and provision allowing the end-user to choose its distribution company was in the works.
The government is working on provisions, whereby the entire discom set up would be unbundled. While there would be a government distributor of power to ensure that power was provided to the weaker section of the society, competition will be introduced and the private sector role in the sector would be expanded. The government would allow competition without raising tariff or compromising on better customer service, Mr. Goyal added.
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Asked about allowing end-users of electricity to select their power distribution firm, he said it would be d one gradually, adding that it was tried in Maharashtra but did not deliver the desired results due to some legal issues.
There were some hurdles under the Electricity Act of 2003, he said when asked why the proposed model did not work in that state.
“We are trying to resolve those hurdles under the current amendment to the Electricity Act,” he added.
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PTI reports:
To reduce discom lossesThe move is aimed at reducing the losses of discoms as well as improving the overall electricity supply. According to the proposal, a new model where a power supplier will not manage the electricity distribution network, is being looked at.
It is on the lines of existing system in the United Kingdom, which has separate suppliers and electricity network providers.
At present here, power discoms supply as well as manage network that provides electricity for residential as well as commercial purposes. In a separate carriage and content model, the network would be owned by one company while the suppliers of electricity could be more than one.