Lok Sabha Question No. 2368 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-05
Subject: Distribution and Transmission Reforms
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru, Y. S. Avinash Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2368 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.03.2020

## DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION REFORMS

2368.  SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHANA RAJU: SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the Government  proposes  to  introduce  new policies to boost the generation of hydropower and electricity from bio-mass and bio-fuel;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps being taken by the Government to check the transmission bottlenecks and losses incurred thereby; and
- (d) the  reforms  being  brought  in  distribution  and  transmission  of  energy  to  achieve capacity utilisation of power grids?

## A N S W E R

THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  POWER,  NEW  &  RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

( SHRI  R.K. SINGH)

- (a) & (b) : Yes, Sir.
- (I)  For  boosting  the  generation  of  Hydro  Power,  the  Govt.  of  India  on  8 th   March,  2019, approved a number of measures for promoting hydropower sector in the country which are as under:
- i. Declaring Large Hydro Power (LHPs) (>25 MW projects) as Renewable Energy source.
- ii. Hydro  Purchase  Obligation  (HPO)  as  a  separate  entity  within  Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
- iii. Tariff rationalization measures for bringing down hydro power tariff.
- iv. Budgetary  Support  for  Flood  Moderation/Storage  Hydro  Electric  Projects (HEPs).
- v. Budgetary Support to Cost of Enabling Infrastructure, i.e. roads/bridges.
- (a) Rs. 1.5 crore per MW for projects upto 200 MW.
- (b) Rs. 1.0 crore per MW for projects above 200 MW.

………2.

(II) For  promotion  of  Biomass  based  generation,  the  Ministry  of  New  and  Renewable Energy  notified  a  new  biomass  scheme  on  11.05.2018  under  the  name  'Scheme  to Support Promotion of Biomass Based Cogeneration in Sugar Mills and Other Industries in the Country (up to March 2020). The scheme supports biomass cogeneration projects with Central Financial Assistance (CFA) @ Rs.25 Lakhs/MW of surplus exportable capacity and Rs.50 Lakhs/MW of installed capacity depending on the type of fuel used.

(c) : The Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) in the country has been planned to facilitate smooth transfer of power across state and regional boundaries all over the country. In this process, robust National Grid has been established leading to One Nation -  One Grid - One Frequency, facilitating power transfer from the resource rich areas to major  load  centers  of  the  country  with  reliability  and  security.  The  Cumulative  interregional  power  transfer  capacity  of  the  National  Grid  is  expected  to  increase  from  the present  level  of  1,00,550  MW  to  about  1,18,050  MW  by  2022.  As  such,  there  is  no constraint envisaged in transfer of power through ISTS network on long term basis.

To  fulfill  targets  of  RE  capacity  (175  GW)  by  2022,  various  initiatives  has been taken like Green Energy Corridors Scheme, Transmission for Ultra Mega Solar Power parks, Transmission planning for Renewable Energy Zones (66.5 GW) by 2022 etc.

The transmission losses in Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) are of the order of 2.5 - 3% which are due to inherent design of the system and technical in nature. Hhigh  capacity  transmission  corridors  of  Extra  High  Voltage  level  as  well  as  energy efficient devices are installed to maintain the ISTS losses to minimum level.

(d) : Electricity is a concurrent subject and distribution of electricity falls under the  purview  of  the  respective  State  Government  /  State  Power  Utility. It is the responsibility of distribution licensees to plan their distribution system so as to provide 24x7  reliable  power  to  all  the  consumers  and  to  achieve  capacity  utilization  of  their power Distribution Grids.

Government  of  India  has  launched  several  schemes  such  as  Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) to enable States to improve their distribution infrastructure  systems  and  management  of  Discoms.    Under  IPDS/DDUGJY  Schemes, projects involving creation / augmentation of sub-transmission & distribution infrastructure,  metering  of  distribution  transformers/feeders/consumers,  provision  of underground and aerial bunched cables including IT enablement of distribution infrastructures etc. have been taken up.

In order to achieve the target of 24 X 7 'Power for All', a well-knit network of Inter  State  Transmission  System  integrated  with  high  capacity  HVDC  and  765kV interconnecting links has been developed which has facilitated seamless power transfer from  the  resource  rich  areas  to  major  load  centers  of  the  country  with  reliability  and security.  In  addition,  the  National  Grid  has  facilitated  access  of  power  from  cheaper energy sources to the load centers as well as development of vibrant power from market.

The Government has constituted Regional Power Committees - Transmission Planning (RPC-TPs) and reconstituted National Committee on Transmission (NCT) for fast track  planning  and  approval  of  transmission  system.  These  committees  would  meet  on quarterly basis to assess the requirement of transmission system in the country.

************