Lok Sabha Question No. 1602 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Problem of Increasing Power Cuts
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri Ramashankar  Vidharthi Rajbhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1602 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025

## PROBLEM OF INCREASING POWER CUTS

†1602. SHRI RAMASHANKAR RAJBHAR:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any specific steps to deal with the problem of increasing power cuts in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether there is any new scheme implemented to improve the transmission and distribution system and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the measures taken to deal with the shortage of transformers and the repeated malfunctioning therein in the rural areas;
- (d) whether  there  is  any  special  scheme  to  ensure  uninterrupted  power  supply  to every village and household and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  fill  the  vacant  posts  and  to create new opportunities of employment in the electricity department;
- (f) whether there is any scheme to provide training to the youths therein and if so, the details thereof;
- (g) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  bring  a  check  on  increase  in  electricity rates and problems regarding power billing; and
- (h) whether the grievance redressal system has been strengthened for the consumers and if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) to (d) : Electricity being a concurrent subject, supply and distribution of electricity to  the  consumers  is  within  the  purview  of  the  respective  State  Government/Power Utility. Government of India has been supporting the States/ UTs through schemes like Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Gram  Jyoti  Yojana  (DDUGJY),  Integrated  Power  Development Scheme (IPDS), Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli  Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) to improve access and quality of power supply to all consumers. These schemes stand closed as on 31.03.2022. Under these schemes, projects worth Rs. 1.85 lakh Cr. were executed for strengthening of power distribution infrastructure.

..........2.

Government  of  India,  in  July  2021,  launched  the  Revamped  Distribution  Sector Scheme  (RDSS)  with  the  objective  of  improving  the  quality  and  reliability  of  power supply  to  consumers  through  a  financially  sustainable  and  operationally  efficient Distribution Sector in the country. The scheme aims to reduce the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% and the Average Cost of Supply and Average Revenue Realized (ACS-ARR) Gap to zero.

Under  the  scheme,  financial  assistance  is  being  provided  to  the  Distribution Utilities  eligible  under  scheme  for  upgradation  of  distribution  infrastructure  &  smart metering  works.  Various  works  sanctioned  under  RDSS  for  improvement  in  power distribution  network  and  strengthening  of  infrastructure  for  ensuring  uninterrupted power supply across the country are as below:

- a. Installation  of  New/Upgradation  of  existing  Distribution  Transformers  and  substations.
2. b.
3. Feeder bifurcation and segregation works
- c. Replacement of old bare  conductors with  Low Tension Aerial Bunched (LT AB) cables
- d. Reconductoring of High Tension (HT) & Low Tension (LT) lines etc.
- e. Modernization works including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Data Management System (DMS), IT/OT, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), GIS enabled applications, Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) etc. to make to make distributions systems smarter.

Projects  worth  Rs.  1.48  lakh  crores  for  distribution  infrastructure  and  Rs.  1.31 lakh  crores  for  smart  metering  works  have  been  sanctioned  which  would  help  to improve  the  reliability  and  quality  of  power  supply  in  the  country  including  the  rural areas. State-wise details are attached at Annexure-I.

Further,  Government  of  India  is  supporting  electrification  of  all  households  left out  during  SAUBHAGYA  period  under  the  scheme  of  Revamped  Distribution  Sector Scheme  (RDSS).  Survey  has  been  carried  out  by  distribution  utilities  to  identify  unelectrified  households.  Grid  based  electrification  works  have  been  sanctioned  under RDSS wherever found feasible. Till date, works amounting to Rs. 4,538 Cr. have been sanctioned for grid electrification of 9,97,680 households. This includes grid electrification  of  households  left-out  during  SAUBHAGYA,  households  belonging  to Particularly  Vulnerable  Tribal  Group  (PVTG)  identified  under  PM-JANMAN  (Pradhan Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha  Abhiyan)  and  tribal  households  as  well  as  public places  identified  under  DA-JGUA  (Dharti  Aaba  Janjatiya  Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan).  The State wise details are enclosed as Annexure-II.

- (e) : Administration of State electricity departments including filling of vacant posts is under the purview of the respective State / UT Governments.
- (f) : Under RDSS, 10,850 nos. of employees of State Government DISCOMs have been provided training so far (Annexure-IV).

(g) : Smart Metering at the consumer, distribution transformer and feeder level along with  communication  features  and  Advanced  Metering  Infrastructure  (AMI)  supports Distribution  Utilities  in  improving  their  financial  viability  through  benefits  such  as improvement  in  billing  and  collection  efficiency,  automatic  energy  measurement, accounting,  auditing,  improved  load  forecasting,  optimize  power  purchase  costs  and renewable  energy  integration  through  net  metering.  Thus,  the  installation  of  smart meters would help distribution utilities reduce their losses. The reduction in losses and improved power purchase optimization would help in reducing the cost of power.

Further,  implementation  of  Prepaid  Smart  metering  will  provide  the  following benefits to the consumers:

- a.
- Error free billing
- b. Convenience of recharge with small recharges
- c. Emergency credit in meter to avoid disconnection on zero balance
- d. Tracking of consumption
- e. Rebate in bill

Under  this  scheme,  projects  worth  Rs  1.31  lakh  crore  have  been  sanctioned under  RDSS  for  Smart  metering  works.  State-wise  details  of  smart  metering  works sanctioned for 28 States is given at Annexure-III.

(h) : Ministry of Power has issued the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 to strengthen the Consumer Grievance Redressal System. The Rules stipulate establishment  of  Consumer  Grievance  Redressal  Forums  (CGRFs)  at  different  levels. The forum shall consist of officers of the Distribution licensee and have not more than four members as consumer and prosumer representatives. The State Commission shall nominate  one  independent  member  who  is  familiar  with  the  consumer  affairs.  The Distribution licensee shall specify the time within which various types of grievances by the different levels of the forums are to be resolved.

The  Rule also provides  for  appointment  of  an  Ombudsman  by  the  State Commission for redressing the appeals.

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

## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.    1602 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 13.02.2025

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## 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) (Rs. Cr.)   | 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                                                     |                                              | 917                                 |                                                              |                                                                                     | 619                                                                   |
|                           |                                                         | 598                                          |                                     | 80                                                           | 538                                                                                 |                                                                       |
| Uttar Pradesh             | 18,956                                                  | 21,612                                       | 40,568                              | 3,501                                                        | 12,967                                                                              | 16,468                                                                |
| Uttarakhand               | 1,106                                                   | 1,717                                        | 2,823                               | 310                                                          | 1,545                                                                               | 1,855                                                                 |
| Grand Total               | 1,30,671                                                | 1,47,635                                     | 2,78,306                            | 24,173                                                       | 94,050                                                                              | 1,18,224                                                              |

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

ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.1602 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 13.02.2025

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## Household Electrification sanctioned under RDSS (PVTG+Addl HHs+ VVP)

| Sl. No.   | Name of State                                                   | Sanctioned Outlay (Rs. Crores)   | Sanctioned GBS (Rs. Crores)   | Total Households Sanctioned (Nos.)   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| A.        | Addl. HHs Sanctioned under RDSS                                 |                                  |                               |                                      |
| 1         | Rajasthan                                                       | 459.18                           | 275.51                        | 1,90,959                             |
| 2         | Meghalaya                                                       | 435.70                           | 392.13                        | 50,501                               |
| 3         | Mizoram                                                         | 79.90                            | 71.91                         | 15,167                               |
| 4         | Nagaland                                                        | 69.55                            | 62.59                         | 10,004                               |
| 5         | Uttar Pradesh                                                   | 931.04                           | 558.62                        | 2,51,487                             |
| 6         | Andhra Pradesh                                                  | 49.24                            | 29.55                         | 15,475                               |
| 7         | Jharkhand                                                       | 7.47                             | 4.48                          | 872                                  |
| 8         | Jammu & Kashmir                                                 | 77.10                            | 69.39                         | 10,730                               |
| 9         | Bihar                                                           | 300.26                           | 180.16                        | 42,584                               |
| 10        | Assam                                                           | 785.55                           | 706.99                        | 1,27,111                             |
| 11        | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 47.11                            | 42.40                         | 6,506                                |
| 12        | Manipur                                                         | 214.44                           | 193.00                        | 36,972                               |
| 13        | Chhattisgarh                                                    | 316.51                           | 189.90                        | 63,161                               |
|           | Total (A)                                                       | 3,773.04                         | 2,776.64                      | 8,21,529                             |
| B.        | Electrification works sanctioned under RDSS in Vibrant Villages |                                  |                               |                                      |
| 1         | Himachal Pradesh*                                               | 6.08                             | 5.47                          | -                                    |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 20.18                            | 18.16                         | 1,683                                |
| 3         | Uttarakhand                                                     | 13.08                            | 11.77                         | 1,154                                |
|           | Total (B)                                                       | 39.34                            | 35.41                         | 2,837                                |
| C.        | Electrification of PVTG Households through Grid                 | Connectivity under               | PM-JANMAN                     |                                      |
| C1 1      | Sanctioned under RDSS Andhra Pradesh                            | 88.71                            | 53.23                         | 25,054                               |
| 2         | Bihar                                                           | 0.28                             | 0.17                          | 51                                   |
| 3         | Chhattisgarh                                                    | 38.17                            | 22.90                         | 7,077                                |
| 4         | Jharkhand                                                       | 74.13                            | 44.47                         | 12,442                               |
| 5         | Madhya Pradesh                                                  | 143.39                           | 86.02                         | 29,290                               |
| 6         | Maharashtra                                                     | 26.61                            | 15.96                         | 8,556                                |
| 7         | Rajasthan                                                       | 40.34                            | 24.20                         | 17,633                               |
| 8         | Karnataka                                                       | 3.77                             | 2.26                          | 1,615                                |
| 9         | Kerala                                                          | 0.86                             | 0.52                          | 345                                  |
| 10        | Tamil Nadu                                                      | 29.89                            | 17.94                         | 10,673                               |
| 11        | Telangana                                                       | 6.79                             | 4.07                          | 3,884                                |
| 12        | Tripura                                                         | 61.52                            | 55.37                         | 11,664                               |
| 13        | Uttarakhand                                                     | 0.60                             | 0.54                          | 669                                  |
| 14        | Uttar Pradesh                                                   | 1.10                             | 0.66                          | 316                                  |
|           | Sub Total (C1)                                                  | 516.15                           | 328.31                        | 1,29,269                             |
| D.        | Electrification of DA-JGUA                                      |                                  |                               |                                      |
| D1        | Sanctioned Households                                           |                                  |                               |                                      |
| 1         | Chhattisgarh                                                    | 11.98                            | 7.19                          | 2,550                                |
| 2         | Maharashtra                                                     | 2.07                             | 1.24                          | 480                                  |
| 3         | Tripura                                                         | 40.69                            | 36.62                         | 7,677                                |
| 4         | Karnataka                                                       | 30.53                            | 18.32                         | 3,682                                |
| 5         | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 8.20                             | 7.38                          | 1,938                                |
| 6         | Telangana                                                       | 110.73                           | 66.44                         | 26,525                               |
|           | Sub Total (D1)                                                  | 204.20                           | 137.19                        | 42,852                               |
| D2        | Sanctioned Public Places                                        |                                  |                               |                                      |
| 1         | Tripura                                                         | 2.31                             | 2.08                          | 512                                  |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 0.04                             | 0.03                          | 9                                    |
| 3         | Telangana                                                       | 2.90                             | 1.74                          | 672                                  |
|           | Sub Total (D2)                                                  | 5.25                             | 3.86                          | 1,193                                |
|           | Total (D=D1+D2)                                                 | 209.45                           | 141.05                        | 44,045                               |
|           | Grand Total (A+B+C+D)                                           | 4,537.99                         | 3,281.39                      | 9,97,680                             |

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

ANNEXURE-III

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (g) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1602 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 13.02.2025

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## Smart Metering Works Sanctioned under RDSS

| State                     | Consumer Meters (Nos.)   | DT Meters (Nos.)   | Feeder meters (Nos.)   | Sanctioned cost of metering (including PMA) (Rs. Cr.)   |
|---------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 83,573                   | 1,148              | 114                    | 53.56                                                   |
| Andhra Pradesh            | 56,08,846                | 2,93,140           | 17,358                 | 4,127.85                                                |
| Arunachal Pradesh         | 2,87,446                 | 10,116             | 688                    | 183.56                                                  |
| Assam                     | 63,64,798                | 77,547             | 2,782                  | 4,049.54                                                |
| Bihar                     | 23,50,000                | 2,50,726           | 6,427                  | 2,021.21                                                |
| Chattisgarh               | 59,62,115                | 2,10,644           | 6,720                  | 4,105.31                                                |
| Delhi                     | -                        | 766                | 2,755                  | 13.38                                                   |
| Goa                       | 7,41,160                 | 8,369              | 827                    | 469.17                                                  |
| Gujarat                   | 1,64,81,871              | 3,00,487           | 5,229                  | 10,641.96                                               |
| Haryana                   | -                        | -                  | -                      | -                                                       |
| Himachal Pradesh          | 28,00,945                | 39,012             | 1,951                  | 1,788.49                                                |
| Jammu & Kashmir           | 14,07,045                | 88,037             | 2,608                  | 1,063.62                                                |
| Jharkhand                 | 13,41,306                | 19,512             | 1,226                  | 858.02                                                  |
| Karnataka                 | -                        |                    |                        | -                                                       |
| Kerala                    | 1,32,89,361              | 87,615             | 6,025                  | 8,231.21                                                |
| Ladakh                    | -                        | -                  | -                      | -                                                       |
| Madhya Pradesh            | 1,29,80,102              | 4,19,396           | 29,708                 | 8,910.65                                                |
| Maharashtra               | 2,35,64,747              | 4,10,905           | 29,214                 | 15,214.95                                               |
| Manipur                   | 1,54,400                 | 11,451             | 357                    | 121.16                                                  |
| Meghalaya                 | 4,60,000                 | 11,419             | 1,324                  | 309.56                                                  |
| Mizoram                   | 2,89,383                 | 2,300              | 398                    | 181.61                                                  |
| Nagaland                  | 3,17,210                 | 6,276              | 392                    | 207.57                                                  |
| Puducherry                | 4,03,767                 | 3,105              | 180                    | 251.10                                                  |
| Punjab                    | 87,84,807                | 1,84,044           | 12,563                 | 5,768.50                                                |
| Rajasthan                 | 1,42,74,956              | 4,34,608           | 27,128                 | 9,714.80                                                |
| Sikkim                    | 1,44,680                 | 3,229              | 633                    | 97.45                                                   |
| Tamil Nadu                | 3,00,00,000              | 4,72,500           | 18,274                 | 19,235.36                                               |
| Telangana                 | -                        |                    |                        | -                                                       |
| Tripura                   | 5,47,489                 | 14,908             | 473                    | 318.55                                                  |
| Uttar Pradesh             | 2,69,79,056              | 15,26,801          | 20,874                 | 18,956.29                                               |
| Uttarakhand               | 15,87,870                | 59,212             | 2,602                  | 1,106.03                                                |
| West Bengal               | 2,07,17,969              | 3,05,419           | 11,874                 | 12,670.45                                               |
| Grand Total               | 19,79,24,902             | 52,52,692          | 2,10,704               | 1,30,670.88                                             |

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

ANNEXURE-IV ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (f)  OF  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.1602 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 13.02.2025

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## Training Programmes Conducted under RDSS

|   Sl. No. | Name of the Training Program                                | No. of employees trained   |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------|
|         1 | Introduction of AMI and role of AMI in reducing AT&C losses | 5,000                      |
|         2 | AMI system design and program management                    | 1,996                      |
|         3 | IT/Comm. Technology in Smart metering                       | 301                        |
|         4 | AMI data analytics and data applications                    | 165                        |
|         5 | SCADA, IT/OT technologies and DMS & OMS System              | 527                        |
|         6 | Operational Safety and Disaster Management                  | 2,211                      |
|         7 | Smart Metering and AT&C Loss Reduction                      | 399                        |
|         8 | Techno commercial improvements of DISCOMs                   | 173                        |
|         9 | Communication & Soft Skills                                 | 78                         |
|        10 | Total                                                       | 10,850                     |

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