In his latest analysis of the Ministries of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that, given that power problems differ across regions and states, a one-size-fits-all approach should be avoided.
“The Ministry should put in place state-specific solutions to incentivize each state to improve its performance,” the PM said, according to the official statement by his office.
He also asked the two ministries to ensure that power distribution companies (discoms) publish their performance parameters on a periodic basis. “This is so that the people know how their discoms fare in comparison to the peers,” said the statement.
In the last five years , the Ministry of Power has launched a range of schemes to boost the financial and operational health of beleaguered distress and to monitor their development. Most prominent of them was UDAY 's aim to turn discomfort around. Nevertheless, the success of the system was mixed with frustration falling back into red again with no substantial reduction in their operating losses.
Dashboards and mobile apps such as Urja Mitra, Praapti, Merit have been launched to keep track of the power supply status, pending charges and the power purchase rate of the discoms, respectively. Not all states are on board for these apps or feed data timely.
The finance ministry has recently announced a Rs 90,000 crore discom support package. This would involve a special loan scheme for discoms to pay their fees to power stations. Because the scheme has strict requirements, it can be seen which Member States are able to borrow under the scheme.
The Prime Minister called for a holistic approach to modern and sustainable energy for the entire agricultural supply chain, ranging from solar water pumps to integrated solar cold storage.
“Each state should have at least one city (either a capital city or any renowned tourist destination) to have a fully solar-run city through rooftop solar power generation,” said the statement.
The PM said the power sector should use made in India equipment. He also said, “An ecosystem should be developed for manufacturing of ingots, wafers, cells and modules in India. It would also help generate employment in addition to various other advantages.”
