Bihar government considering 24X7 power to every home and penalty for load-shedding

Bihar government is considering a proposal to fine power distribution companies for load-shedding as part of its ambition to provide uninterrupted power supply to each household in the state as a matter of consumer rights.

The proposed “No load-shedding policy” has been placed before the state cabinet committee recommending discoms be penalised even for short outages, power minister RK Singh said in Patna on Saturday.

“We have to make a presentation before the cabinet committee on November 19,” said Singh, while inaugurating a 256-bed Powergrid Vishram Sadan, which is sort of a five-storied subsidised dormitory for attendants of patients, at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.

Singh said India had achieved the dual targets of generating surplus power and electricity connection to every household and was now working towards the next milestone of 24×7 power supply.

“We are moving in a direction where you would not need to keep generator sets,” he added.

Singh said the Central government was also encouraging the use of electrical vehicles to reduce export of petroleum products and pollution.

He said the Indian government plans to scale up power generation from renewable energy sources from 1.13 lakh MW currently to 1.75 lakh MW by 2022 and 4.50 lakh MW over the next decade.

Singh said the NDA government at the Centre was about to launch “Kusum Yojana”, in a month’s time to encourage farmers to install solar panels on their barren lands. This scheme, he said, will help a farmer earn up to Rs 70,000 per acre annually.

Source: Hindustan Times