Ministry of Power: Government Schemes | Indian Economy for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme

• It aims to improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of discoms (excluding Private Sector DISCOMs).

Key Points

• About:
  • It will provide conditional financial assistance to strengthen the supply infrastructure of discoms (power distribution companies).
    • The financial assistance will be based on meeting pre-qualifying criteria and upon achievement of basic minimum benchmarks.
  • All the existing power sector reforms schemes such as Integrated Power Development Scheme, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana will be merged into this umbrella program.
  • The scheme will be available till 2025-26.
• Implementation:
  
  • It would be based on the action plan worked out for each state rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
• Nodal Agencies:
  • Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation.
• Components:
  • Consumer Meters and System Meters:
    • The scheme involves a compulsory smart metering ecosystem across the distribution sector—starting from electricity feeders to the consumer level, including in about 250 million households.
    • It is proposed to install approximately 10 crore prepaid Smart Meters by December, 2023 in the first phase.
  • Feeder Segregation:
    • Scheme also focuses on funding for feeder segregation for unsegregated feeders, which would enable solarization under the PM-KUSUM Scheme.
    • Solarization of feeders will lead to cheap/free day time power for irrigation and additional income for the farmers.
  • Modernization of Distribution system in Urban Areas:
    • Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) in all urban areas.
    • Rural and Urban area System strengthening.
• Special Category States:
  • North-Eastern State of Sikkim and States/Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep will be treated as Special Category States.
• Objectives:
  • Reduction of AT&C losses (operational losses due to inefficient power system) to pan-India levels of 12-15% by 2024-25.
  • Reduction of cost-revenue gap to zero by 2024-25.
  • Developing Institutional Capabilities for Modern DISCOMs.
• Related Schemes:
  • Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya): To ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.
  • Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS): The scheme provides for (a) strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution networks in urban areas; (b) metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers in urban areas; and (c) IT enablement of distribution sector and strengthening of distribution network.
  • Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY): The rural electrification scheme provides for (a) separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders; (b) strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas including metering at distribution transformers, feeders and consumers end.
  • GARV (Grameen Vidyutikaran) App: To monitor transparency in implementation of the electrification schemes, Grameen Vidyut Abhiyanta (GVAs) have been appointed by the government to report progress through the GARV app.
  • Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY): For operational and financial turnaround of Discoms.
  • ‘4 Es’ in the Revised Tariff Policy: The 4Es include Electricity for all, Efficiency to ensure affordable tariffs, Environment for a sustainable future, Ease of doing business to attract investments and ensure financial viability.

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana

The Government of India has launched the scheme “Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” for rural electrification. The erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme for village electrification and providing electricity distribution infrastructure in the rural areas has been subsumed in the DDUGJY scheme. Rural Electrification Corporation is the Nodal Agency for implementation of DDUGJY.

Objectives
The Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for rural areas with the following objectives:

• To provide electrification to all villages
• Feeder separation to ensure sufficient power to farmers and regular supply to other consumers
• Improvement of Sub-transmission and distribution network to improve the quality and reliability of the supply
• Metering to reduce the losses

Components of the Scheme
The following are the scheme components:

1. Separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply to agricultural & non-agricultural consumers in the rural areas;
2. Strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution (ST&D) infrastructure in rural areas, including metering at distribution transformers, feeders and consumers end;
3. Rural electrification, as per CCEA approval dated 01.08.2013 for completion of the targets laid down under RGGVY for 12th and 13th Plans by subsuming RGGVY in DDUGJY and carrying forward the approved outlay for RGGVY to DDUGJY.

Benefits from the scheme

• All villages and households shall be electrified
• Increase in agriculture yield
• Business of Small and household enterprises shall grow resulting into new avenues for employment
• Improvement in Health, Education, Banking (ATM) services
• Improvement in accessibility to radio, telephone, television, internet and mobile etc
• Betterment in social security due to availability of electricity
• Accessibility of electricity to schools, panchayats, hospitals and police stations etc
• Rural areas shall get increased opportunities for comprehensive development

Ujala Yojana

• The initiative evolved into the world’s largest zero subsidy domestic lighting programme with more than 36.78 crore LEDs distributed across the country.

Key Points

• About:
  • Launched in 2015 and initially labeled as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), it aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings and lighting.
  • Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a government company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power, has been designated as the implementing agency for this programme.
  • Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
• Achievements:
  • UJALA succeeded in bringing down the retail price of LED (Light-Emitting Diode) bulbs from INR 300-350 per bulb to INR 70-80 per bulb.
  • Apart from making affordable energy accessible to all, the programme also resulted in massive energy savings. As of today, 47,778 Million kWh per annum energy has been saved.
  • Further, there has been 3,86 crore tonnes of reduction in CO2 emissions.
  • It provides an impetus to the domestic lighting industry. It encourages Make in India as domestic manufacturing of LED bulbs has increased from 1 lakh per month to 40 million per month.

Other Initiatives Related to Energy Efficiency/Conservation

• Gram Ujala: Under the initiative, LED bulbs will be distributed at a highly subsidised rate at Rs. 10 across 2,579 villages in five states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
• Perform Achieve and Trade Scheme (PAT): It is a market based mechanism to enhance the cost effectiveness in improving the Energy Efficiency in Energy Intensive industries through certification of energy saving which can be traded.
• Standards and Labeling: The scheme was launched in 2006 and is currently invoked for equipment/appliances.
• Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC): It was developed for new commercial buildings in 2007.
• Street Lighting National Programme: EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs.