Centre makes annual audit a must for Discoms

VIJAYAWADA: In a bid to make the power distribution companies (Discoms) efficient and accountable, the Union Ministry of Power has made mandatory the submission of energy audit reports by the power companies every fiscal. The ministry has also notified the gazette and all the Discoms will be required to submit the audit report within four months. 

“Every electricity distribution company shall conduct energy audit (accounting) for every financial year within a period of three months from the expiry of the relevant financial year. There shall not be a gap of more than twelve months between two energy audits (accounting),” said the union ministry’s notification of regulations called ‘Bureau of Energy Efficiency (Manner and Intervals for Conduct of Energy Audit (Accounting) in Electricity Distribution Companies) Regulations, 2021’ dated April 15.

The objective of the audit report is to identify the areas of energy leakage, wastage or inefficient use in addition to high loss-making areas, monitor input energy and consumption pattern and overloaded segments. Based on the report, the bureau will make recommendations for initiating target based corrective action.  

Some of the pre-requisites of energy accounting is identification and mapping of all electrical network assets, installation and operation of meters at all network points including consumer premises, establishing centralised energy accounting and energy auditing cell and others. The energy flow will be verified at all levels of distribution.