Power sector in NE developed, revamped: Singh

December 4, 2021 46 Views No Comment

DIMAPUR, DEC 4 (NPN): Union power and new & renewable energy minister RK Singh on Friday said that the power scenario in the Northeast has developed tremendously in the past three-four years and almost all States in the region have managed to revamp their power system.

“Today, the power system in the Northeast is very different than what it was four years back,” he added.

Addressing a meeting with power ministers and officials concerned of North Eastern states at Guwahati on Friday to discuss the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, Singh claimed that availability of power in the country, including Northeast, has gone up to an average of around 21 hours per day in rural areas and 23 hours in urban areas.

Singh claimed that the power sector witnessed tremendous growth in the past few years in areas of generation, transmission and distribution, adding that the objective was to give 24×7 power supply to every household in rural and urban areas of the country and make India a world leader in power production.

Talking about the Revamped Distribution Scheme, Singh said that the scheme would help reduce the losses, even as he underlined that the increasing demand for electricity necessitated strengthening and modernisation of the distribution infrastructure.

He said implementation of the Scheme would lead to consumer empowerment by way of prepaid smart metering. He mentioned that the scheme provided financial support for Prepaid Smart Metering & System Metering and upgrade of the distribution infrastructure.

Emphasising modernising the system, Singh elaborated that in order to reduce losses, States would have to focus on improving billing efficiency, ensuring timely payment for electricity consumption by government departments, etc.

With planning and sincerity in implementation, he said an operationally-efficient and financially-sustainable electricity distribution sector could be developed under this scheme to meet the aspirations of the citizens.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam power minister Bimal Bora and secretary, Union Ministry of Power, were also present at the meeting.

The Central government has approved a Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, a reforms-based and results-linked scheme, with an outlay of Rs 3,03,758 crore over a period of five years from financial year 2021-22 to financial year 2025-26 with the objective to improve the quality, reliability and affordability of power supply to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/power-sector-in-ne-developed-revamped-singh/245875.html