The Conference of Power and New &
renewable energy Ministers of States and UTs concluded here late yesterday
evening. It was chaired by the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New
& Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh, and was attended by Power and
Energy Ministers of States and Union Territories (UTs) of 17 States and 1 UT.
Shri Singh reviewed the presentations
given by senior officers of the Ministry on various issues and had in depth
deliberations with all State Ministers and their officials. Further, the
Minister also directed his officers to note down suggestions from different
States, which may be worked out later. Shri Singh gave repeated assurance to
all the State Governments to approach his Ministry without any hesitation for
any issue regarding the Power Sector.
At the culmination of the Conference, a
resolution was adopted by a wide consensus, salient points of which are as
below:
24×7 Power for All
States resolve to:
·
Electrify
all remaining
Census inhabited un–electrified villages by December
2017.
·
Provide
electricity connections to all willing households by December 2018.
·
Provide
Infrastructure for seamless power supply to the Consumers by March, 2019.
·
States
resolve to clear all current years Government dues of DISCOMs along with
25% of arrears so that entire old dues are paid by March,
2019.
·
Provide
continues support to resolve Right of Way issue for seamless power
transfer.
·
Improve
quality of power supply and minimize load sheading for non–Technical
reasons.
Power Reforms
States resolve to:
·
Prepare
roadmap for reduction of cross subsidies as per Tariff Policy by March 2018
and bring in Tariff reforms by simplification of Consumer Tariff categories and
rationalization of Electricity Tariff.
·
Ensure
that DISCOMs enter into PPAs and honour PPAs, particularly for wind and
solar Sector, where tariff has been discovered through a transparent and
competitive bidding process.
·
Ensure
compliance of RPO, including compliance through a mechanism of purchase
of REC (renewable energy certificates),
as per revised Tariff policy and RPO trajectory notified by Ministry of Power
on 22.7.2016. States
to send suggestion on the future RPO trajectory from 2019–20
to 2021–22.
Promotion of Digital Payments
·
States resolve to promote digital payments through various
measures such as cash incentives, waiving convenience fee, Consumer friendly on
line payments and promotion of digital payments through various media.
Energy Conservation
·
States resolve to adopt ECBC 2017 for all new commercial
buildings to make them energy efficient
·
Promote
use of BEE Star Rated Energy Efficient Pumps for agricultural purpose
New and Renewable Energy
States resolve to:
·
Ensure
forecasting and scheduling of renewable energy for large scale grid
integration by utilizing services of NIWE/other agencies.
·
Set
up necessary infrastructure for metering & communication at all
substation levels for real time data generation.
·
Submit
a trajectory for bidding for solar/wind (mark with annual plan) and participate in
scheduled bidding programme.
·
To
achieve the RPO target every year.
·
To
promote decentralized production of power – learning
from models implemented in Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
·
Submit
proposals for solar parks under additional 20000 MW capacity under Solar
Park scheme
·
Promote
solar rooftops and ensure hassle free grid connectivity
·
Promote
solar pumps to replace diesel pumps
·
Participate
in Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) for setting up of 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground
Mounted Grid Connected Solar Power Plants, installation of 17.50
Lakh Stand–alone Solar Pumps and Solarisation of 10 Lakh
Grid Connected agriculture Pumps and 50 Thousand Tube–wells/Lift Irrigation Projects by Financial Year 2021–22,
with the objective of providing financial and water security to Farmers.
·
Identify
at least one city for making it 100% Renewable Energy
city.
During his concluding remarks, Shri
Singh proposed forming of Consultative Groups of Experts to handhold
State Governments in bringing efficiency through Best practices in their
respective Power Sectors and phase out obsolete practices and technologies. By
doing this, Shri Singh emphasized that Power Sector in India would become
robust and efficient and ultimately ensure Ease of Living for every citizen
of the country.
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RM/VM
