New Delhi: From April, power minister RK Singh has requested states to provide round-the-clock power supply to all households, barring agriculture customers. Discoms are required to provide uninterrupted electricity as the draft tariff policy provides for fining companies for load shedding, according to the agreements signed with the Centre.
"We need to ensure that we live up to the agreement which we signed. Starting April 1, we expect discoms to supply power 24×7. Agriculture consumers will be exempt," Singh said.
"We will hold you accountable for supplying 24×7 power to all households barring agriculture consumers, where 8-10 hours of power supply is sufficient, as we also have the need to conserve groundwater," Singh said while addressing the conference of state power ministers.
Ahead of summers and with an assured sufficient coal supply to generate power, state governments must be ready for the rise in demand, he said.
"The sector will not be sustainable unless we collect money for each unit distributed. We also need to shift to the prepaid metering system," he said.
Singh added that coal-fired plants are 'here to stay' for some time, despite the ministry's commitment to achieving India's climate goals by adding renewable energy capacity and reducing carbon emissions.
"The supply of quality power to consumers is a priority for the government. Power generating companies using coal will stay until renewable energy becomes stable," Singh said.