All discoms have to comply with Energy Conservation Act: Power Ministry

New Delhi: The Ministry of Power has announced that it has made it mandatory for all electricity distribution companies (discoms) in the country to comply with the provisions of the Energy Conservation (EC) Act. According to the Ministry of Power's previous order issued on September 28, which was formulated in consultation with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), all the entities having issued distribution license by state & Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission under the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003)" are notified as Designated Consumers (DCs).

After this notification, all the discoms will be governed under the various provisions of the EC Act, such as Appointment of Energy Manager, Energy Accounting & Auditing, identification of Energy Losses Category wise, Implementation of energy conservation & efficiency measures etc. for each Discoms. Earlier, the Discoms whose annual energy losses were equal to or above 1000 MU were only covered as DCs. Now with this notification, the number of Discoms covered under the EC Act will increase from 44 to 102. This decision will facilitate Energy Accounting & Auditing as a mandatory activity for all the Discoms, leading to the actions towards reducing losses and increase the profitability of Discoms.

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"The amendment is expected to help Discoms to monitor their performance parameters and bring in transparency in the distribution sector through professional inputs. It will also assist in developing projects for reducing electricity losses by Discoms and implementing effective solutions. The amendment is expected to improve the financial state of the Discoms. The quarterly data of these Discoms will be collected and monitored by the government to suggest measures for increasing efficiency and reduce energy loss. This move is expected to gradually become more effective if extended up-to the level of end consumers," the Ministry said in an official statement.

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