Mumbai, Feb 27 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday suggested that the Central government should bring back schemes like UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana for the financial turnaround of power distribution companies), reduce interest rates on financing, abolish levy and allow the state run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran) to issue interest free bonds.
Fadnavis was speaking here at the second meeting of the Group of Ministers formed by the central government on Financial Efficiency of Power Distribution Companies and related matters.
Fadnavis said that Mahavitaran is the largest power distribution company in the country in the energy sector.
“28 per cent of electricity consumption is for agriculture, which is the highest in the country. The revenue is Rs 1.12 lakh crores and 49 per cent of the revenue is from industries. The state government is taking measures to improve the financial condition of Mahavitaran,” he added.
He said that the government is promoting solar energy in the state, which will reduce the loss of electricity distribution and bring down the electricity rates.
He further stated that the money that will be saved from this will ensure that everyone from the general consumer to the industry will get electricity at a cheaper rate.
According to the Chief Minister, solar agricultural pumps are also being provided in large quantities whereby farmers will get electricity during the day.
“The Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar Yojana is also benefiting a lot. Solar energy will be provided for all houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Almost 30 lakh houses will get this electricity. This will also bring a big revolution. Through all such measures, an attempt is being made to increase the share of renewable energy to 52 per cent in the state,” he said, adding that the government is promoting the use of AI in a big way in the electricity sector.
Fadnavis aid that Mahavitaran has submitted a proposal to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission to save Rs 66,000 crore in electricity purchase cost by implementing various measures. Also, a proposal has been given to reduce electricity tariffs in phases in the next five years. The intention is to make electricity tariffs more affordable for common consumers by removing cross-subsidies on industries.
Union Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik said the central government is quite positive in increasing investment in the non-conventional and renewable energy.
“The aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses in the power sector of the entire country stood at 16.28 per cent as per the 2023-24 data. This indicates improvement in efficiency in the power sector. To curb the AT&C losses, the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat need to increase their efficiency. These states should use artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technology in the power distribution sector. Further, the government departments should make timely payments, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) should fix rates from time to time, install smart meters and reduce losses, implement electricity tariffs in a timely manner, as well as restructure debt, and raise funds through alternative means,” he suggested.
–IANS
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