The seventh Conference of Power Ministers of States and UTs held in Delhi on September 10 deliberated upon several issues related to the sector and resolved to provide affordable and adequate power to consumers by making electricity accessible to all particularly to those habitations that are not connected with the Grid.    

The Union Minister of State for Power Jyotiraditya M. Scindia while inaugurating the Conference said that there have been unprecedented achievements in the power sector, but still there are unforeseen barriers that must be removed if the sector has to grow and contribute to the economic growth of the country and benefit the common man.    

The minister emphasised that restoring the financial health of the state owned distribution utilities should be the topmost priority of state governments. The benefit of the huge generation capacity commissioned and under construction can not reach the consumers if the Discoms are unable to purchase electricity due to their financial condition. Mr. Scindia mentioned that some states are resorting to load shedding even while electricity is available, which leaves a lot of capacity stranded.    

On the success of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), a flagship programme of Government of India, the minister said this centrally sponsored scheme is being implemented in 27 States out of which the performance of states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand can be considered as very good while performance of Assam, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal can be considered satisfactory. However, performance of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram needs improvement.    

The emphasis in the proposed RGGVY programme under 12th plan is to electrify left out habitations, he added.