Maharashtra Govt To Provide Relief For High Electricity Bills During COVID Lockdown
Mumbai, November 3, 2020: Discussions are underway to provide relief to the increased power bills due to excessive power consumption during the Corona period and a decision is likely to be taken by Diwali, said Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut.
Raut visited the Tata Thermal Power Station at Trombay and inspected it. He then spoke to reporters. Answering a question from reporters, he said that the employment of many was adversely affected during the COVID period. Also having to stay at home brought more electricity bills. Therefore, there is a demand for relief regarding these increased electricity bills. Discussions are underway in that regard.
Raut said that Tata has been associated with Mumbai as a brand. He was the first to launch several power generation projects for Mumbai. The island system was commissioned by Tata Power in 1981 to prevent Mumbai from going dark. However, the incident of power outage on October 12 has necessitated further measures. Considering the importance of Mumbai, the State Load Transmission Center (SLDC) at Kalwa will visit Tata Power Company and Adani Power Company to learn more about the incident.
The Department of Energy has appointed a technical audit committee to find out the cause of the power outage and take measures. The Central Electricity Authority and the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) have also set up separate committees. The power transmission system as well as the island system for Mumbai needs to be improved and efforts will be made to complete the modernization measures next year, he said.
Raut further said that efforts are being made to ensure reliable and quality power supply to Mumbai and directed to set up an efficient messaging and coordination mechanism between Mahatrans, SLDC, Tata Power Company and Adani Energy Company to prevent recurrence of power outages like October 12.
Mumbai’s electricity demand is expected to reach around 5,000 MW by 2030. In view of this need, in order to provide uninterrupted power supply to Mumbai, importance will be given to increase power generation, planning for it, what will be its production rate, etc. At present, two sets of the Tata power plant are closed and more power can be generated from them.
Necessary measures will be proposed to the Electricity Regulatory Commission for the island system to be successful. The technology of island design has been changing from time to time. However, instructions have been given to bring the latest technology in it. Efforts will be made to make State Transmission Units (STUs) more efficient. Radical transmission is currently used to meet Mumbai’s electricity needs. Considering the possibility of problems if a high voltage power line malfunctions, the option of making a ring line in the future will also be considered, he added.
Raut informed that in line with various issues, the company is working on the vision of saving cost by adopting up-to-date technology in power generation, transmission and distribution systems and supplying power to the consumers at reasonable rates. Special emphasis is being laid on the uninterrupted power supply to agriculture, payment of electricity to the consumers in the same manner as meter reading, promotion of environmentally friendly solar energy projects. Efforts will be made to provide electricity concessions to more industries in the state. The results will be seen in the coming days with the signing of MoUs with several industries. Efforts are being made to supply power to the spinning mills and textile mills at a discounted rate, as well as to expedite the disposal of pending power connection applications.
He also said that a decision on the policy of connection of agricultural pumps will be taken soon and the pending issues of connection of agricultural pumps will be resolved.
Follow and Connect With Us on WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Linkedin
