All government departments should switch to the prepaid electricity meters, noted R.K. Singh, Union minister for power and new & renewable energy.
Supporting his stance, Singh said that all government departments must be put on prepaid system, which will automatically ensure payments from government departments.
R.K. Singh expressed this view at the “National Conference of Power and Renewable Energy Ministers of States and UTs,” held on November 6-7, 2023, in New Delhi.
Delivering the closing remarks and expressing satisfaction on the outcomes of the conference, R.K. Singh told power ministers of states that it would be desirable to hold the State Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministers’ conference once in every quarter.
The Minister congratulated Team India of power sector as enablers of the country’s economic growth and said that power system is stronger and more viable. He advised them to push the extra mile so as to make it totally viable.
Singh also asked the States and UTs to review the performance of the power sector on a regular basis. “Ministers and senior officers of states should regularly review and monitor the performance of discoms and generation companies to see that the energy accounts have been prepared, billing efficiency is above 87 per cent, collection efficiency is above 97 per cent. Only then will accountability come into the system and the system will get maintained and get better,” the power minister noted.
Among several issues discussed at the conference, states were encouraged to deploy the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) mechanism to strengthen the intrastate grid.
It was also decided that energy accounting through smart metering of all DTs and feeders should be given top priority to identify and eliminate losses in the distribution network.
It was also proposed that states should develop a plan during next two to three months to optimize the mix of solar and non-solar hours power. Agricultural load should be shifted to solar hours so as to save thermal power for non-solar hours, it was proposed.
Also read: R K Singh Chairs Conference Of Power Ministers
Featured photograph sourced from PIB
