Union Cabinet Financial Assistance | Union Cabinet’s Financial Assistance to Discoms/Power Departments Recently the Union Cabinet has approved the Revamped Distribution Area Scheme.
It aims to improve operational efficiency and financial stability by providing conditional financial assistance to DISCOMs/Power Departments (except private sector DISCOMs) to strengthen supply infrastructure.
- The assistance will be based on meeting the pre-qualification criteria as well as the achievement of the basic minimum criteria.
- This scheme will be available till the financial year 2025-26. Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will be the nodal agencies for this.
Objective
- To reduce the overall technical and commercial (AT&C) losses by 12 to 15 per cent all India level by FY 2024-25.
- To reduce the gap between Average Cost of Supply and Average Revenue Receipt (ACS-ARR) to zero by FY 2024-25.
- To develop institutional capabilities for modern DISCOMs.
- To improve the quality, reliability and affordability of electricity supply to the consumers.
Components of the scheme
- Consumer meters and system meters: Prepaid smart meters for all consumers except agricultural consumers; Prioritizing urban areas, union territories, AMRUT (Atal Mission for Renewal and Urban Transformation) cities etc.
- Classification of feeders: Funding for feeder classification unrelated to agricultural connections to enable solarization under safflower.
- Modernization of distribution system in urban areas.
- Strengthening of rural and urban area systems.
Salient features
- Special attention has been given to improve the supply of electricity to the farmers and to provide them day time electricity through solarization of agricultural feeders.
- Consumer empowerment through prepaid smart metering in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
- Artificial intelligence will be leveraged to analyze the data generated through IT/OT devices including system meters, prepaid smart meters, to generate system generated account reports every month.
Source – The Hindu
