Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Monday, underscored the "huge need" for reforms in the power sector.
The Chief Minister, on Monday, presided over a review meeting of the power sector. He emphasised the need for making efforts to make comprehensive reforms at every level of the power sector.
UP is in the grip of a power crisis due to huge spurt in demand due to heat wave leading to sharp spike in power consumption. The situation has been aggravated by the shortage of coal in thermal power plants of UP Vidyut Utpadan Nigam.
The chief minister asked UP’s Energy Minister AK Sharma to thoroughly review the functioning of the department. Showing signs of urgency vis-a-vis power situation in the state the review meeting came days after Yogi met the Union Coal and Railway ministers urging them to provide an extended help to meet the ever-increasing demand for power in
UP.
Already, the state has recorded the highest ever power demand of 22,500 megawatt. Making the matter worse were the technical glitches in the power plants much to the disappointment of the power officials. It was only after the state government managed to get an additional 2,000 MW of power that the situation came somewhat under control, officials in the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) admitted.
Yogi nevertheless stressed on ensuring uninterrupted power supply in all 75 districts as per roster. The chief minister maintained that the Centre was lending "all possible help" to mitigate the crisis.
The chief minister said that while the Railways had arranged additional rakes for augmenting coal supply to thermal power stations, the option of transportation of coal from mines to power plants by road should also be explored. He also underlined the need for timely payment of electricity bills which also requires timely issuance of electricity bills.
"Overbilling, false billing or late billing causes inconvenience to the consumers. To improve this system, the Energy department will have to make a concrete action plan to increase the billing and collection efficiency. Special efforts are needed in rural areas," the chief minister said.
Yogi also advised bringing in a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme for the recovery of the outstanding arrears of the power bills. He said the OTS scheme to be formulated should provide exemption from interest on arrears and facility of payment in installments. UP is currently facing a power crisis. Against a demand for about 23,000 MW of electricity, only 20,800 MW is being supplied.
Though the state has managed an additional 1,600 MW of electricity from Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, there is still a shortfall of about 2,000 MW resulting in power cuts.