Mumbai: A 15-member Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation has held preliminary discussions with the State Government on the feasibility of implementing Inter State Transmission System (ISTS)-based projects in Maharashtra. The panel has suggested Maharashtra significantly participate in the Central ISTS, which promises seamless transmission from a renewable resources-rich State to a deficient one. Gujarat has already moved its projects to the ISTS as per the mandate of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Union Ministry of Power.
The Rajya Sabha Committee, constituted in 1964 as an instrument for exercising parliamentary control over executive action, will present its report to the Rajya Sabha with its recommendations on new legalisations proposed by Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow and Mumbai. Its principal function is to scrutinise the various rules, regulations and bye-laws, and see if they are in line with the Constitution.
The discussions related to Maharashtra’s power sector were attended last week by officials of the Maharashtra State Power Transmission Corporation along with the Department of Power, Maharashtra Government. The Central panel had earlier the month held discussions with the Karnataka Power Generating Company and State Power Generation Company in Tamil Nadu for effective implementation of ISTS-access states.
“The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had in August 2018 launched the country’s first ISTS-enabled auction in Bhuj. The Centre is already offering concessions to wind and solar projects based on the ISTS. We are hopeful of doing that in Maharashtra,” said a senior State bureaucrat.
The Committee also discussed the existing scenario related to Maharashtra’s power generation, which has been steadily increasing, as has its demand. The total electricity generated in the State is around 1,50,000 million units (MUs) in 2017-18, while consumption remains at around 3,000 MUs higher, officials said. The State’s per-capita consumption, too, is higher than the national average. In 2015, per capita consumption in the State was 962.2 units, as opposed to about 652.5 units across the country.