Lok Sabha Question No. 1398 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Un-electrified Households in Rural Areas
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Shri Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1398 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## UN-ELECTRIFIED HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL AREAS

1398. SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE:

SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the number of willing un-electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban areas that were electrified under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana in Maharashtra during the last five years and the current year;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  launched  Revamped  Distribution  Sector  Scheme (RDSS) and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the primary objectives of the RDSS along with the steps taken by the Government to improve the power distribution sector;
- (d) the  manner  in  which  RDSS  aligns  with  India's  vision  of  providing  reliable, affordable, and quality power to all citizens;
- (e) the details  of  the  specific  targets  set  for  reducing  losses  in  distribution  sector through RDSS along with the Government's plan to achieve these targets;
- (f) the current status of RDSS implementation and the details of the States adopted the scheme;
- (g) the  details  of  the  total  budget  allocation  for  RDSS  and  the  funding  being distributed among participating States; and
- (h) the manner in which RDSS scheme benefit consumers in terms of reducing power outages and improving the reliability of electricity supply?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) : Government of India (GoI) launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana  (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.

As reported by the states, around 2.86 Cr. households have been electrified since the  launch  of  SAUBHAGYA,  up  to  31.03.2022.    For  the  State  of  Maharashtra,  a  total 5,89,242  households  were  electrified  which  included  5,42,914  and  15,790  number  of households through grid in Rural and Urban areas respectively and 30,538 households in rural  areas  through  off-grid  mode.  All  sanctioned  works  have  been  completed  under SAUBHAGYA  and  scheme  stands  closed  as  on  31.03.2022.Further,  under  Revamped Distribution  Sector  Scheme  (RDSS),  electrification  works  for  9,036  households  have been  sanctioned  for  the  State  of  Maharashtra  under  PM-JANMAN  (Pradhan  Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) and DA-JGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan).

(b) to (h) : RDSS  was  launched  by  the  Government  of  India,  in  July  2021.The  main objective of the scheme  is to support Distribution utilities i.e.  DISCOMs/Power Departments (PDs)to improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of distribution  sector  so  as  to  provide  quality  and  reliable  supply  of  power.  The  scheme envisages reducing the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) Losses to 12-15% at  pan-India  level  and  Gap  between  Average  Cost  of  Supply  and  Average  Revenue Realised (ACS-ARR Gap) to Zero by 2024-25.

Total outlay of RDSS is Rs 3,03,758 Cr including Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 97,631 Cr. The scheme duration is for 5 years (i.e. FY2021-22 to FY2025-26). 48 DISCOMs across 30 States/ UTs have participated under RDSS.

AT&C Losses and ACS-ARR Gap for a utility are the key financial and operational indicators  of  its  performance.  Losses  directly  impact  the  cash  flow  and  affects  their financial  position  thereby  forcing  them  to  supply  costly  electricity  to  consumers. Reduction in AT&C losses and ACS-ARR Gap improves the finances of these utilities, which  will  enable  them  to  better  maintain  the  system  and  buy  power  as  per requirements; benefitting the consumers.

To address these losses, mandatory pre-qualifying criteria have been prescribed under  the  scheme  which  includes  timely  publishing  of  audited  annual  accounts  & quarterly  accounts,  timely  release  of  subsidy  and  Government  department  dues  by States/UTs,  no  new  creation  of  regulatory  assets,  pre-paid  metering  in  Government establishments, timely payment of GENCO dues and timely publishing of tariff &true up orders. Based on performance of the utility against parameters mentioned under Result Evaluation  Matrix,  which  include  achievement  against  major  financial  &  operational parameters, they are evaluated. Thus, assistance has been linked to performance.

Further, projects worth Rs. 2.78 lakh crore have been sanctioned under RDSS for loss  reduction  and  smart  metering  works  (State-wise  details  placed  at  Annexure). Sanctioned infrastructure works are at various stages of implementation and physical progress of  about 21.51%has been achieved till date.

DPRs for the proposed works are submitted by the utilities, keeping in view the specific issues faced by them, with the approval of the State Cabinet after recommendation of the Distribution Reforms Committee  (DRC)  which are subsequently

……….3.

approved,  as  per  scheme  guidelines,  by  the  Monitoring  Committee  constituted  under RDSS.  The maximum financial assistance for loss reduction  works  given to utility is 60% of the approved project cost, while for special category States it is limited to 90%. Further, grant is also provided for Smart Metering works, as per the scheme guidelines, based on number of feeders, distribution transformers and consumers proposed to be metered.

In addition to above, other initiatives taken to improve power distribution sector include Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules 2022, Rules for implementation  of  Fuel  and  Power  Purchase  Cost  adjustment  (FPPCA)  and  Cost reflective tariff so as to ensure that all prudent cost for supply of electricity are passed through,  Additional  Borrowing  space  of  0.5%  of  GSDP  to  the  States  linked  to  power sector reforms, Additional Prudential Norms for lending by Power Finance Corporation (PFC) Limited and REC Limited based on the performance of the utilities etc.

As a result of various reform measures undertaken, the AT&C loss of distribution utilities at the national level has reduced from 25.5% in FY 2013 to 15.37% in FY 2023 and the ACS-ARR gap has reduced from Rs. 0.84/kWh in FY 2013 to Rs. 0.45/kWh in FY 2023. Further, the hours of supply for rural areas has improved from 12.5 hrs in FY 2014 to  21.9  hrs  in  FY  2024.  Similarly,  for  urban  areas  it  has  improved  from  22.1  hrs  in  FY 2014 to 23.4 hrs in FY 2024.

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## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (b)  TO  (h)  OF  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1398   ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 13.02.2025 *************

## State-wise cost of projects sanctioned under RDSS

| States/DISCOMs            | Sanctioned cost of metering (including PMA) (Rs. Cr.)   | Sanctioned LR cost including PMA (Rs. Cr.)   | Sanctioned total Outlay (Rs. Cr.)   | Sanctioned GBS of Metering Works (including PMA) (Rs. Cr.)   | Sanctioned GBS of Infrastructure (Loss Reduction) Works (including PMA)   | Sanctioned GBS with incentives with PMA (Infra +Metering) in Rs Cr.   |
|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 54                                                      | 462                                          | 516                                 | 12                                                           | 416                                                                       | 428                                                                   |
| Andhra Pradesh            | 4,128                                                   | 10,687                                       | 14,814                              | 815                                                          | 6,412                                                                     | 7,227                                                                 |
| Arunachal Pradesh         | 184                                                     | 1,042                                        | 1,226                               | 54                                                           | 938                                                                       | 992                                                                   |
| Assam                     | 4,050                                                   | 3,395                                        | 7,444                               | 1,052                                                        | 3,055                                                                     | 4,107                                                                 |
| Bihar                     | 2,021                                                   | 8,406                                        | 10,427                              | 412                                                          | 5,044                                                                     | 5,456                                                                 |
| Chhattisgarh              | 4,105                                                   | 3,964                                        | 8,070                               | 804                                                          | 2,379                                                                     | 3,183                                                                 |
| Delhi                     | 13                                                      | 324                                          | 337                                 | 2                                                            | 194                                                                       | 196                                                                   |
| Goa                       | 469                                                     | 247                                          | 716                                 | 95                                                           | 148                                                                       | 243                                                                   |
| Gujarat                   | 10,642                                                  | 6,089                                        | 16,731                              | 1,885                                                        | 3,653                                                                     | 5,538                                                                 |
| Haryana                   | 0                                                       | 6,797                                        | 6,797                               | 0                                                            | 4,078                                                                     | 4,078                                                                 |
| Himachal Pradesh          | 1,788                                                   | 2,327                                        | 4,115                               | 466                                                          | 2,094                                                                     | 2,560                                                                 |
| Jammu & Kashmir           | 1,064                                                   | 4,771                                        | 5,835                               | 272                                                          | 4,294                                                                     | 4,566                                                                 |
| Jharkhand                 | 858                                                     | 3,344                                        | 4,202                               | 191                                                          | 2,006                                                                     | 2,197                                                                 |
| Karnataka                 | 0                                                       | 34                                           | 34                                  | 0                                                            | 21                                                                        | 21                                                                    |
| Kerala                    | 8,231                                                   | 3,011                                        | 11,243                              | 1,413                                                        | 1,807                                                                     | 3,220                                                                 |
| Ladakh                    | 0                                                       | 876                                          | 876                                 | 0                                                            | 788                                                                       | 788                                                                   |
| Madhya Pradesh            | 8,911                                                   | 9,384                                        | 18,295                              | 1,504                                                        | 5,631                                                                     | 7,134                                                                 |
| Maharashtra               | 15,215                                                  | 17,209                                       | 32,424                              | 2,840                                                        | 10,326                                                                    | 13,165                                                                |
| Manipur                   | 121                                                     | 615                                          | 737                                 | 38                                                           | 554                                                                       | 592                                                                   |
| Meghalaya                 | 310                                                     | 1,232                                        | 1,542                               | 86                                                           | 1,109                                                                     | 1,195                                                                 |
| Mizoram                   | 182                                                     | 319                                          | 500                                 | 61                                                           | 287                                                                       | 348                                                                   |
| Nagaland                  | 208                                                     | 461                                          | 668                                 | 60                                                           | 415                                                                       | 474                                                                   |
| Puducherry                | 251                                                     | 84                                           | 335                                 | 56                                                           | 51                                                                        | 107                                                                   |
| Punjab                    | 5,769                                                   | 3,873                                        | 9,642                               | 960                                                          | 2,324                                                                     | 3,284                                                                 |
| Rajasthan                 | 9,715                                                   | 17,427                                       | 27,142                              | 1,686                                                        | 10,456                                                                    | 12,142                                                                |
| Sikkim                    | 97                                                      | 416                                          | 514                                 | 30                                                           | 375                                                                       | 405                                                                   |
| Tamil Nadu                | 19,235                                                  | 9,568                                        | 28,803                              | 3,398                                                        | 5,741                                                                     | 9,139                                                                 |
| Telangana                 | 0                                                       | 120                                          | 120                                 | 0                                                            | 72                                                                        | 72                                                                    |
| Tripura                   | 319                                                     | 598                                          | 917                                 | 80                                                           | 538                                                                       | 619                                                                   |
| Uttar Pradesh             | 18,956                                                  | 21,612                                       | 40,568                              | 3,501                                                        | 12,967                                                                    | 16,468                                                                |
| Uttarakhand               | 1,106                                                   | 1,717 7,223                                  | 2,823                               | 310                                                          | 1,545                                                                     | 1,855 6,423                                                           |
| West Bengal Grand Total   | 12,670 1,30,671                                         | 1,47,635                                     | 19,893 2,78,306                     | 2,089 24,173                                                 | 4,334 94,050                                                              | 1,18,224                                                              |

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