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VOICE OF ELECTRICITY WORKERS
PM TO MEET CMS ON
POWER SECTOR REFORMS
SEEKS WAYS TO CONTROL POWER THEFT
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The chief ministers’ conference on power summoned by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh on February 13 which could not take place has an ambitious 12-point agenda
that ranges from seeking ways to control power theft to handling the politically
sensitive issue of free electricity for constituencies like farmers. The ultra
mega power project initiative will also get top billing at the meeting.
Besides CMs, invitees to the high-level meeting include Planning Commission
member Kirit Parikh, heads and members of various electricity regulators, senior
railway officials, secretaries of finance, revenue, economic affairs, atomic
energy, coal, petroleum, panchayati raj and rural development departments.
Detailed agenda papers are being dispatched to the invitees.
“The meeting was to take a comprehensive view of a number of issues. These will
include discussions on facilitating open access in power distribution,
encouraging captive power generation and harnessing power generated through such
plants to the national grid,” a senior power ministry official said.
The meeting will also discuss demands made by various states for free power from
pithead-based power stations.
Some states, particularly those that have significant coal reserves, are keen to
see that some share of the power generated by central PSUs like National Thermal
Power Corporation is given to them on preferential terms.
On the vital and yet under-developed hydro power sector, the meeting was to try
and formulate ways and means to increase inter-state cooperation for exploiting
resources.
“Eliciting support for the power ministry’s ambitious ultra mega power project
would be one of the top agendas of the meeting,” the official added. The PM is
also expected to impress upon the states the need for more efforts to involve
the private sector in capacity addition.
The preparation of states for augmenting generation resources during the 11th
Plan will be reviewed.
The implementation of the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme is
another subject that the meeting will try to address. The scheme’s progress has
been a cause of concern for the Planning Commission, among others.
Sources added that business plans for commercial revival (of state electricity
boards) will also be taken up at the meeting. “The participants were to further
hold discussions on coming up with an action plan for energy conservation,”
officials added.
Courtesy : Business Standard
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