Govt may announce new scheme for revival of discoms to achieve 24X7 power for all
The government may announce a new scheme for cash-strapped and loss-making electricity distribution utilities to reduce stress in the sector and achieve the goal of ‘24X7 Power for All’, a source said.
“The discoms are cash-strapped and need some revival package for maintaining 24X7 power supply. A new scheme for revival of discoms has been deliberated upon, which may be announced in the General Budget on Monday,” a source said.
The Centre in November 2015 introduced the UDAY (Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) scheme for the revival of the debt-laden discoms. Under the scheme, discoms were envisaged to turn around financially within three years from signing agreements under it.
In September 2019, Power Minister R.K. Singh had said that the Ministry of Power was working on UDAY 2.0 scheme. There were expectations that the scheme would be announced in the General Budget for 2020-21.
Though Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget speech last year had said that taking electricity to every household has been a major achievement but the distribution sector, particularly the DISCOMS, were under financial stress. Further measures to reform DISCOMs would be taken, she had said.
An official statement in March last year had also talked about a new scheme. “Decisions have also been taken in the Government to incentivize and enable states to undertake effective DISCOM reforms; and link central sector schemes to institutional reforms.
