All DISCOMS to comply Energy Conservation Act, 2001

The Ministry of Power, Government of India has released an official notification that mandates all the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) to comply Energy Conservation (EC) Act, 2001. As per the official notice, all the DISCOMs will now be governed under the various provisions of EC Act like Energy Accounting & Auditing, Implementation of energy conservation & efficiency measures, identification of Energy Losses, Appointment of Energy Manager, etc.

This notification was prepared in in consultation with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

Key Points

• The notification of the Power Ministry stated that all entities having issued distribution license by State/Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission under the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) are now notified as Designated Consumers (DCs).
• With this, the number of DISCOMs covered under EC Act will increase to 102 to 44. Before this, DISCOMs with annual energy losses equal to or above 1000 MU were only covered as DCs.
• Now, this decision has made Energy Accounting & Auditing mandatory for all DISCOMs.
• This amendment will help in improving the performance of DISCOMs by reducing their losses, implementing solutions and thereby improving their financial state.
• This amendment will also make the monitoring of DISCOMs easy. The government will collect the quarterly data of DISCOMs and suggest measures for improving their efficiency. This amendment will also bring transparency in the distribution sector.

About Bureau of Energy Efficiency

Established on March 1, 2002, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is a body under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. BEE provides assistance in developing strategies and policies with a main aim of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy.  It coordinates with designated consumers, agencies, and organizations to identify and utilize the already available resources and infrastructure, in order to perform the functions assigned to it under the EC Act.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2020