The revised tariff policy has been cleared by a group of ministers and is likely to be implemented within a month, Power Minister R K Singh said on Friday.
The legislation sets out policies such as the penalty for unscheduled power losses by distribution firms.
"The tariff policy, which had been sent to the Union Cabinet, was referred to an informal group of ministers (GoM). That GoM has cleared it. So we propose to take it to the next Cabinet (meeting)....and hopefully it should be there within a month," Singh said.
He spoke on a digital interaction with CEOs in the energy and renewable energy sectors of the CII Energizing India Series.
The revised tariff policy provides for a provision for unscheduled power losses, except in the case of technological faults or acts of God (natural calamities).
The Government intends to provide 24X7 Power to All at an affordable rate. There is also a provision in the tariff for limiting transmission and distribution losses. Once the tariff policy has been approved, discomfort would not be allowed to exceed 15% of these losses.
The proposal would also allow hourly tariffs where customers would be charged more during peak hours. This will also encourage customers to reduce their energy bill by consuming more power during off-peak hours.
Talking about the recent relief given to discomfort caused by financial stress due to a slump in demand in the middle of the lockdown, Singh said, "We asked our central public sector power generator (CPSU) to defer fixed charges from discomfort. After the economy opens up, those fixed charges would be paid by discomfort in equal installments without interest. That would be a huge relief."
"We have asked our CPSUs (gencos) to give 20 to 25 percent discount to discoms on cost of power. We want discoms to pass it on to consumers. This will be reflected in the first bill of the consumers after the economy reopens (after lockdown is over)," he added.
He also told industry representatives that the Power Ministry is making open access easier, as any such request would be processed within 30 days under the new tariff policy.
He also spoke about eliminating custom barriers to promoting the development of solar and wind energy equipment.
There would be a higher penalty for failing to comply with the RPO (renewable purchase obligation) and countries would start bidding for clean energy projects themselves, he added.
The representative of the industry made a case for bringing power under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) scheme and also asked for indirect subsidies for the establishment of clean energy projects.
They were of the view that direct subsidies are probabilistic and not definite, so that the government should offer differential tariffs for clean energy projects.
We have set out to increase the deadline for project implementation in the light of the coronavirus lockdown.
