: Power ministry mandates energy accounting for discoms to curb losses #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS #Business PTI New Delhi The Ministry of Power on Monday said it has mandated energy accounting

@StockMarketNEWS Fri 15 Oct, 2021

Posted in: #Business #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS

Power ministry mandates energy accounting for discoms to curb losses #FinanceIndia #StockMarketNEWS #Business
PTI

New Delhi

The Ministry of Power on Monday said it has mandated energy accounting of distribution companies (discoms) to reduce electricity losses.

“As an important step under the ongoing power sector reforms, the Ministry of Power today mandated electricity distribution companies to undertake energy accounting on a periodic basis,??? the ministry said on Monday.

The regulations in this regard have been issued by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) with the approval of the Ministry of Power, under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

The notification stipulates quarterly energy accounting by discoms through a certified energy manager within 60 days. There will also be an annual energy audit by an independent accredited energy auditor. Both these reports will be published in the public domain.

Energy accounting reports will provide detailed information about electricity consumption by various categories of consumers and the transmission and distribution losses in various areas.

It will identify areas of high losses and theft and enable corrective actions.

This measure will also enable the fixation of responsibility on officers for losses and theft. The data will enable the discoms to take appropriate measures for reducing their electricity losses.

The discoms will be able to plan for suitable infrastructure up-gradation as well as demand-side management (DSM) efforts in an effective manner. This initiative will further contribute towards India’s climate actions in meeting our Paris Agreement goals, it stated.

These regulations have been issued under the ambit of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, with an overall objective to reduce distribution sector inefficiency and losses, thereby moving towards the economic viability of discoms.

BEE has certified a pool of national accredited energy auditors and energy managers who possess expertise in preparing energy accounting and audit reports, duly providing recommendations for loss reduction and other technical measures.

The regulations were pre-published in April 2021 for seeking public comments and thereafter, the Ministry of Power held detailed discussions with various stakeholders before finally issuing these regulations, it stated.

In September 2020, through a separate notification, all power distribution companies were notified as designated consumers under the Energy Conservation Act. Owing to the potential benefits of energy auditing on the entire distribution system and retail supply business, it was imperative to develop a set of comprehensive guidelines and frameworks, so that all distribution utilities across India can adhere to and formulate actions.