The Countdown begins:

Power is among the most critical component of infrastructure, crucial for the economic growth and welfare of nations. India’s power sector is one of the most diversified in the world. Sources of power generation range from conventional sources such as coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power to viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar, and agricultural and domestic waste. Electricity demand in the country has increased rapidly and is expected to rise further in the years to come. In order to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the country, massive addition to the installed generating capacity is required.

One of the key concerns in the power sector has been the financial health of?the distribution companies (discoms), which are mostly state-owned.?The discoms have had a high level of debt and have been running losses for the past several years. Underpricing of tariff, and high technical and commercial losses (including theft and billing issues) are some of the major reasons for financial issues of the discoms.

The government is set to introduce 17 new Bills among total 23 legislations in this Monsoon Session of Parliament, beginning tomorrow i.e. 19th July’21. This includes 3 key bills that will be tabled to replace existing ordinances including the most politically contentious?Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021, is likely to be pushed for passage in this session of Parliament. This could be a major milestone in India’s economic history, perhaps the most important reform ever.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021-?the proposal to seek the Cabinet approval for the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 was circulated in January this year and the draft law was to be pushed for passage in the Budget session. The proposed amendment has plans for de-licensing of the distribution business and bringing in competition, the appointment of a member from the law background in every Commission, strengthening of APTEL, a penalty for non-compliance of RPO,?prescribing rights and duties of consumers.

The bill shall empower the consumers to choose their power suppliers, and like it did with the Telecom industry, private players would bring down cost and provide better service to all of us. The private players would optimize the cost related to huge transmission loses, O&M of Overhead lines, load-shedding, thefts, etc. Better supply would induce better demand resulting in better profits.?A competitive electricity market would reduce the cost; smart meters would help and a consumer could decide his/her energy mix.

Not to mistaken that India doesn’t have the private players in electricity sector. Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Agra, Odisha, Meghalaya, Tripura, ?been managed pretty well by private sector.

The bill shall be aimed at promoting renewable sources of energy, prescribing a mandatory minimum percentage of purchase of electricity from renewable and hydro sources of energy.

The government’s focus on attaining “Power for all” has already accelerated capacity addition in the country. At the same time, the competitive intensity is increasing at both the market and supply sides. India is already on track to reach its goal of 175 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2022. Now, with the kind of initiatives, it is likely that the renewable energy target to?450 GW by 2030?will also be achievable.