Union Minster R K Singh Sunday said the aim of the Centre is to have “One Nation One Grid” and pay damages to consumers in case of load sheddings.
The government will soon goahead with structural reforms to achieve the objective of “One Nation OneGrid”, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had said in her budget speechearlier this month.
“The government will pay damages (to consumers) if loadsheddings happen,” the Union Power Minister said without elaborating.
The ministry would seek the Union Cabinet’s nod for thepower tariff policy in next few days, which would provide for penalty forunscheduled power cuts except in the case of technical faults or act of God(natural calamities), Singh had said on the day of tabling the Union budget.
Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had announced in thebudget that a package for the power sector would soon be brought by thegovernment. The government intends to provide ’24X7 Power to All’ at affordablerates. Therefore, there would be a provision in the tariff to cap transmissionand distribution losses. Once the tariff policy is approved, the distributioncompanies would not be allowed to pass on these losses beyond 15 per cent.
After inaugurating the Power Grid VishramSadan at theRajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here Sunday, Singh said,”Before 2014, many people whose houses did not have electricity used tothink whether they would ever get it. Now these deprived people haveelectricity at their homes.”
The Centre is focusing on VishramSadans (rest houses) wherepatients from poor economical background would be treated, he said.
The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited has theauthority to construct such VishramSadans, he said.
Singh suggested that a 100-bed VishramSadan be constructedat the RIMS.
A trauma centre was also inaugurated at the RIMS.