Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, R K Singh, chaired a review meeting on the reforms being undertaken in the power sector and the guidelines of the new reforms based and results linked Distribution Sector Scheme.
With a total installed generation capacity of 384 GW, the Minister said that India has transformed from a power deficit to a power surplus country.
Further, he added that the Modi government is implementing Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, reforms based and results linked Scheme, which is the largest of its kind in the power sector, to strengthen and modernise the power distribution system.
The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs 3,03,758 crore aims to improve operational efficiencies and financial sustainability by providing result-linked financial assistance to DISCOMs to strengthen supply infrastructure based on meeting pre-qualifying criteria and achieving basic minimum benchmarks.
Also, the Scheme envisages extensive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Technology (IT) for system-generated energy accounting to enable energy audit and modernisation of distribution infrastructure for loss reduction and improvement in quality and reliability of power supply.
Under the Scheme, 3,875 SCADA systems would be set up in smaller towns, and 100 Distribution Management Systems (DMS) would be set up in the bigger towns and cities. DISCOMs would take up the works related to Underground Cabling, Aerial Bunch Cabling (AB Cabling) as per need and install High Voltage Distribution Systems (HVDS). The Scheme also provides for the separation of agricultural feeders and the DISCOMs.
The Minister said that the transmission network had been expanded to connect the whole country into one integrated grid with over one Lakh MW inter-regional transfer capacity.
“With the joint efforts of the centre and the state governments, universal access has been achieved with 100 per cent electrification of the villages and electrification of 2.82 crore households,” he said.
Power Minister mentioned that under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana and Integrated Power Development Scheme, 2,798 new substations were set up; 3,930 substations were upgraded; 7.5 lakh km of HT and LT lines added; 6.7 lakh new transformers provided; 60,897 km of AB cables and more than 2.5 crore meters were made available.