Lok Sabha Question No. 2952 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-12
Subject: Frequency of Power Outages in Households
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Rajesh Verma, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2952 ANSWERED ON 12.12.2024

## FREQUENCY OF POWER OUTAGES IN HOUSEHOLDS

2952. SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: SHRI RAJESH VERMA: SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government maintains the data with regard to the frequency of power  outages  in  the  households  of  both  rural  and  urban  area  after  the implementation of the Saubhagya Yojana, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the data of the power supply being given to the rural household along with the  details  of  any  incentives/exemptions  given  to  the  vulnerable  and  rural households;
- (c) whether  the  power  produced  from  the  renewable  resources  is  being supplied  to  the  households  under  the  Saubhagya  Yojana  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the  challenges  faced  in Saubhagya Yojana and the remedial action taken thereon to prevent the same in the implementation of Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

- (a) & (b) : Government  of  India  has  always  supplemented  the  efforts  of  the States through schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated  Power  Development  Scheme  (IPDS),  Pradhan  Mantri  Sahaj  Bijli  Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) and Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), to help them achieve the objective of providing quality and reliable supply of power to all households.

As per Rule (10) of the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, the distribution  licensee  shall  supply  24x7  power  to  all  consumers.  However,  the Commission  may  specify  lower  hours  of supply for some  categories  of consumers like agriculture. The Rules are applicable for all States and for all areas including urban and rural areas.  State-wise average daily hours of power supply data post SAUBHAGYA period are placed at Annexure-I. It is the State Government which provides subsidy including incentives/exemptions  support  to  DISCOMs  for  various  category  of  consumers. Further, as per the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission  determines  the  electricity tariff for retail sale of electricity  to  end  consumers.    Section  61  of  the  Electricity  Act,  2003  and  the Tariff Policy provide the guiding principles for determination of tariff. (c) :   Government  of  India  launched  SAUBHAGYA  in  October,  2017  with  the objective to achieve universal household electrification for providing electricity connections to all willing un-electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban areas in the country. A total of 2.86 crore households were electrified during SAUBHAGYA period, out of which, 4.17 lakh households were  provided  electricity  through  Solar  Photo  Voltaic  (SPV)  based  standalone systems.  State-wise  details  of  households  electrified  through  off-grid  systems under SAUBHAGYA are placed at Annexure-II. (d) :   The challenges faced for implementation of SAUBHAGYA included working in  difficult  topography  like  remote  hilly  regions  and  forests,  extreme  weather conditions and availability of skilled manpower for execution of the project.  The steps taken to address the challenges include engineering solutions like portable substations  and  pre-fabricated  structures,  technologies  including  Geographical Information System (GIS), drones and remote supervision tools enhanced project execution. Specialized training programs were conducted which equipped workers  and  contractors  to  work  effectively  and  safely  in  hilly  and  forested areas. Government  of  India  is  taking  all  necessary  steps  to  support  States  for electrification  of  all  households.  Since  most  of  the  left-out  households  are  in remote,  hilly  and  forest  areas,  hence  the  norms  for  electrification  under  RDSS have  been  relaxed  and  the  ceiling  limit  for  cost  of  electrification  has  been enhanced.  Survey  has  been  carried  out  by  distribution  utilities  to  identify  unelectrified  households.    Grid  based  electrification  works  have  been  sanctioned under RDSS wherever found feasible as per the revised norms and for remaining areas off-grid solar based electrification works have been sanctioned under New Solar  Power  Scheme.  Further,  for  the  sanctioned  works,  regular  monitoring  is being done so as to resolve issues, if any, and expedite the implementation.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2952 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 12.12.2024

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## State/UT-wise hours of supply in rural and urban areas

| State Name        | 2022-23 (Rural)   | 2023-24 (Rural)   |   2022-23 (Urban) |   2023- 24 (Urban) |
|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|--------------------|
| A&N Island        | 22.2              | 22.2              |              22.6 |               22.4 |
| Andhra Pradesh    | 23.5              | 23.6              |              23.9 |               23.9 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 18.3              | 20.1              |              19.4 |               22.1 |
| Assam             | 22.5              | 22.5              |              23.7 |               23.8 |
| Bihar             | 20.1              | 22.2              |              23.6 |               23.6 |
| Chandigarh        | *                 | *                 |              22.5 |               23.8 |
| Chhattisgarh      | 21.6              | 21.6              |              23.8 |               23.8 |
| Delhi             | *                 | *                 |              24   |               24   |
| Goa               | 23.8              | 23.8              |              23.9 |               23.9 |
| Gujarat           | 23.8              | 23.7              |              23.8 |               23.9 |
| Haryana           | 19.4              | 19.4              |              23.6 |               23.8 |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 23                | 23                |              23.9 |               23.9 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 17.7              | 19                |              22.5 |               21.7 |
| Jharkhand         | 21.2              | 22.1              |              22.8 |               23.1 |
| Karnataka         | 22.2              | 21.4              |              23.5 |               23.7 |
| Kerala            | 23.5              | 22.4              |              24   |               24   |
| Ladakh            | 22.2              | 22.2              |              23.4 |               23.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 20.7              | 22.6              |              23.6 |               23.8 |
| Maharashtra       | 23.8              | 23.8              |              23.9 |               23.9 |
| Manipur           | 22                | 22                |              23.8 |               23.9 |
| Meghalaya         | 21.9              | 21.8              |              22.8 |               23.1 |
| Mizoram           | 23.4              | 22.3              |              23.7 |               23.6 |
| Nagaland          | 19                | 18                |              21   |               20   |
| Odisha            | 23.4              | 23.4              |              23.5 |               23.7 |
| Puducherry        | 22.4              | 22.7              |              23.8 |               23.7 |
| Punjab            | 21.8              | 22.8              |              23.6 |               23.7 |
| Rajasthan         | 21                | 21.7              |              23.6 |               23.9 |
| Sikkim            | 21.4              | 21.5              |              22.5 |               22.6 |
| Tamil Nadu        | 23.9              | 23.5              |              24   |               24   |
| Telangana         | 21.8              | 21.9              |              23.9 |               24   |
| Tripura           | 19.7              | 22.3              |              23.9 |               23.7 |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 17.4              | 18.1              |              23.3 |               23.4 |
| Uttarakhand       | 21.4              | 21.4              |              23.6 |               23.7 |
| West Bengal       | 23.4              | 23.4              |              23.8 |               23.9 |
| National Average  | 21.7              | 21.9              |              23.3 |               23.4 |

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ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  OF  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO. 2952 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 12.12.2024

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## Off-grid households electrified under SAUBHAGYA Scheme

| Sl No   | Number of households   |
|---------|------------------------|
| 1       | 5,398                  |
| 2       | 50,754                 |
| 3       | 39,100                 |
| 4       | 65,373                 |
| 5       | 7,740                  |
| 6       | 207                    |
| 7       | 168                    |
| 8       | 12,651                 |
| 9       | 30,538                 |
| 10      | 3,387                  |
| 11      | 598                    |
| 12      | 1,466                  |
| 13      | 13,735                 |
| 14      | 0                      |
| 15      | 1,23,682               |
| 16      | 3,601                  |
| 17      | 53,234                 |
| 18      | 4,837                  |
| 19      | 0                      |
| Total   | 4,16,469               |

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