Electricity Amendment Bill faces Oppn. protests, sent to House panel
- The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in Parliament recently amid protests and later sent to the standing committee for further deliberation
Aims of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022
- The bill aims at allowing the licensing of multiple discoms for supply in the same area as well as the fixing of minimum and maximum tariffs.
- While the bill intends to impose a universal service obligation on all licensees, it allows national and state dispatch centres to cut power supply if the discoms don't give bank guarantees.
- The bill provides for management of power purchase and cross-subsidy in case multiple distribution licensees exist in the same area of supply, it allows network sharing for optimum utilisation as well as proposes an enhanced rate of penalty for non-compliance with the revised provisions.
- The bill also mandates discoms to abide by the Renewable Purchase Obligations and ensures removal of members of regulatory bodies in case they neglect rules or willfully violate legal provisions.
Opposition to the bill
- The bill is being opposed by farmer groups, the All India Power Engineers Federation and opposition-ruled states for several reasons.
- While the federation claims that the bill favours private companies and hurts government discoms, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha maintains that farmers weren't consulted.
- Meanwhile, the opposition is claiming that the bill substantially weakens the powers of states.
- The federation claims that the universal service obligation will cover only the existing companies which will lead to indirect privatisation.
- The federation also fears that multiple licensees in urban areas will result in loss-making areas remaining underserved, and power cuts for want of bank guarantees will disrupt power supply, destabilise grids and burden ailing discoms.