PM launches Power Sector’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
Prime Minister participates in Grand Finale marking the culmination of
the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ programme
PM dedicates and lays the foundation stone of various green energy projects of
NTPC worth over Rs 5200 crore
PM also launches the National Solar rooftop portal
“The strength of the
energy sector is also important for Ease of Doing Business as well as for Ease
of Living”
“Projects launched today will strengthen India’s renewable energy
goals, commitment and aspirations of its green mobility”
“Ladakh will be the first place in the country with fuel cell electric vehicles”
“In the last 8 years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has
been added in the country”
“In politics, people should have the courage, to tell the truth, but we see
that some states try to avoid it”
“About 2.5 lakh crore rupees of power generation and distribution companies are
trapped”
“Health of the electricity sector is not a matter of politics”
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi participated in the Grand Finale marking the culmination of
‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ today via video conferencing.
During the programme, he launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme. He
also dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects
of NTPC. He launched the National Solar rooftop portal.
The Prime Minister interacted with the beneficiaries
of various schemes. Hansraj from Mandi informed the Prime Minister about his
experience with the KUSUM scheme. The Prime Minister enquired how other farmers
are getting interested in the scheme. Hansraj also thanked the Prime Minister
for the scheme and elaborated on how this scheme helped him and his family.
Kalaha Reang from Khowai, Tripura informed the
Prime Minister about the changes brought about by the arrival of electricity in
his village. He informed that after Solar Power, dependence on kerosene has
reduced. The Prime Minister further asked about other changes brought in by the
arrival of electricity. Reang said that now they are able to charge the mobile
phones for which they used to travel long distances. Solar power has improved
the education of children, and local industries and evening life has undergone
a change. The Prime Minister asked him to utilize educational TV channels run
by the government. The Prime Minister also asked him to save electricity.
Kagu Kranti Kumar of Visakhapatnam, a
beneficiary of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna, also detailed the positive
impact of electricity in his life. The Prime Minister said that the country
will progress only when every citizen progresses and people express
satisfaction that electricity is reaching all the villages of the country.
Pramila Devi of Varanasi, a beneficiary of the Integrated Power
Development Scheme was greeted by Har Har Mahadev by the Prime Minister. The
Prime Minister, a Member of Parliament from Varanasi, asked her to pay respect
to Baba Vishwanath on his behalf. The Prime Minister also expressed happiness
that overhead wires are gradually being phased out leading to better safety and
aesthetic outcomes.
Dhiren Sureshbahi Patel from Ahmedabad talked about his experience
installing solar panels. The Prime Minister said that by installing rooftop
panels Dhirenbhai became an electricity seller. The Prime Minister said that in
the last year many steps have been taken to ensure a confident position of the
country in the energy sector by 2047. He said people’s participation has been
the greatest strength in this regard.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister
said Energy and power sectors have a huge role to play in accelerating India's
progress in the next 25 years. The strength of the energy sector is also
important for Ease of Doing Business and is equally important for Ease of
Living. He said that the projects launched today are significant steps in the
direction of green energy and energy security for the county. These projects
will strengthen India’s renewable energy goals, commitment and aspirations of
its green mobility, he said. The Prime Minister announced that work on two big
green hydrogen projects in Ladakh and Gujarat is starting today. The plant
being set up in Ladakh will produce green hydrogen for vehicles in the country.
This will be the first project in the country which will make commercial use of
green hydrogen based transport. Ladakh will very soon be the first place in the
country where fuel cell electric vehicles will start to ply. This will help in
making Ladakh a carbon-neutral region, he said.
The Prime Minister also informed that after
blending ethanol in petrol and aviation fuel, now the country is moving towards
blending green hydrogen in piped natural gas pipelines, which will reduce
import dependence on natural gas.
Remembering the poor state of power scenario
before 2014, The Prime Minister reminded that eight years ago, the Government
took the initiative to transform every part of the country's power sector. Four
different directions were worked together to improve the power system -
Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Connection.
The Prime Minister informed that in the last 8
years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added in
the country. One Nation One Power Grid has become the strength of the country
today. About 1,70,000 circuit kilometre transmission lines have been laid to
connect the entire country. Furthermore, by giving 3 crore connections under
the Saubhagya Scheme, we are also nearing the saturation goal, he added.
The Prime Minister said ‘we had resolved to
create 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the completion of 75 years of
independence. Today we have come close to this goal. So far, about 170 GW
capacity has been installed from non fossil sources. He added that today, India
is in the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity.
Many of the world's largest solar power plants are in India today. The country
has got two more big solar plants today. These plants built in Telangana and
Kerala are the first and second largest floating solar plants in the country.
The Prime Minister said that solar panels are being encouraged in households.
The Prime Minister said that along with
increasing the production of electricity, the emphasis of the government is
also on saving electricity. “Saving electricity means enriching the future. PM
Kusum Yojana is a great example of this. We are providing solar pump facility
to farmers, helping to install solar panels on the side of the fields”, he said.
The Prime Minister said that the UJALA scheme
has also played a big role in reducing electricity consumption and bills in the
country. Every year 50 thousand crore rupees are saved from the electricity
bills of poor and middle-class households.
The Prime Minister noted that with the passage
of time, a serious disorder has come into our politics. In politics, people
should have the courage, to tell the truth, but we see that some states try to
avoid it. This strategy may sound like good politics in the short term. But it
is like postponing today's truth, today's challenges, for tomorrow, for our
children, and for our future generations. This thinking of avoiding solutions
to today's problems and leaving them for the future is not good for the
country, he said. This thought process has pushed the power sector in many
states into huge problems.
The Prime Minister said losses in our
distribution sector are in double digits, whereas in the developed countries of
the world it is in single digit. This means that we have a lot of wastage of
electricity and therefore we have to generate more electricity than we need to
meet the demand for electricity. He said there is a lack of investment in
reducing distribution and transmission losses in many states. The Prime
Minister remarked that people will be surprised to know that some states have
outstanding dues of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. They have to give this money to
power generation companies. Power distribution companies owe more than 60
thousand crore rupees from many government departments, and local bodies. He
said that these companies are not able to get even the money that has been
committed for subsidy on electricity in some states on time and in full. This
arrear is also more than Rs 75,000 crore. Companies doing generation of
electricity to those involved in last mile delivery owe about two and a half
lakh crore rupees resulting in huge losses.
The Prime Minister requested the states whose
dues are pending, to clear them as soon as possible. Also, honestly consider
the reasons that even when the countrymen pay their electricity bills honestly,
why do some states have arrears again and again? He said this is not a matter
of ‘Rajniti’ (politics) but pertains to 'Rashtra Niti’ and nation building, he
said
He ended by reminding the stakeholders that
the health of the electricity sector is everyone’s responsibility.
Background
Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the
government has taken multiple path breaking initiatives in the power sector.
These reforms have transformed the sector, with the focus being on making
affordable power available for all. Electrification of about 18,000 villages
which did not have access to power earlier signified the commitment of the
government towards ensuring last mile outreach.
The Ministry of Power’s flagship Revamped
Distribution Sector Scheme is aimed at improving the operational efficiencies
and financial sustainability of the DISCOMs and Power Departments. With an
outlay of over Rs 3 lakh crore over a period of five years from FY 2021-22 to
FY 2025-26, the scheme aims to provide financial assistance to DISCOMs for
modernization and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, focussing on
the improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers. It
also aims to reduce the AT&C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses to
pan India levels of 12-15% and the ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply-Average
Revenue Realized) gap to zero by 2024-25 by improving the operational
efficiencies and financial sustainability of all state sector DISCOMs and Power
Departments.
During the programme, the Prime Minister also
dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of
NTPC worth over Rs 5200 crore. He inaugurated the 100 MW Ramagundam Floating
Solar Project in Telangana and the 92 MW Kayamkulam Floating Solar Project in
Kerala. He laid the Foundation Stone of the 735 MW Nokh Solar Project in
Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen
Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat.
The Ramagundam project is India’s largest
floating Solar PV project with 4.5 lakh ‘Made in India’ Solar PV modules.
Kayamkulam project is the second largest floating Solar PV project consisting
of 3 lakh ‘Made in India’ Solar PV panels floating on water.
The 735 MW Solar PV Project at Nokh, in
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan is India’s largest Domestic Content Requirement based
Solar project with 1000 MWp at a single location, deploying high-wattage
bifacial PV Modules with a tracker system. The Green Hydrogen Mobility Project
at Leh, Ladakh is a pilot project and aims for five Fuel Cell Buses to be run
in and around Leh. This pilot project would be the first deployment of Fuel
Cell Electric Vehicles for public use in India. The Green Hydrogen Blending
Pilot Project at NTPC Kawas Township will be India’s first Green Hydrogen
Blending Project helping in reducing the usage of natural gas.
The Prime Minister also launched A National Solar
Rooftop Portal, which will enable online tracking of the process of
installation of rooftop solar plants, starting from registering the
applications to release of subsidies in residential consumers’ bank accounts
after installation and inspection of the plant.
‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’
is taking place from 25th to 30th July, as part of the ongoing ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav’. Organised across the country, it showcases the transformation in the
power sector achieved in the last eight years. It aims to empower citizens by
improving their awareness and participation in various power-related
initiatives, schemes and programmes of government.