NPCL, BRPL secures A+ ranking among all 62 rated DISCOMs  

The discoms BYPL (Delhi), and TPDDL (Delhi) also have secured the highest A+ ranking revealed in the third edition of the Consumer Service Ratings for DISCOMs, covering their performance in the fiscal year 2022-23.

NPCL (Uttar Pradesh), BRPL (Delhi), BYPL (Delhi), and TPDDL (Delhi) have secured the highest A+ ranking among all 62 rated DISCOMs in the country. This was revealed in the third edition of the Consumer Service Ratings for DISCOMs, covering their performance in the fiscal year 2022-23.

The report was released by the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, RK Singh in the Review Planning and Monitoring (RPM) meeting of the power sector, involving states and state power utilities, held in New Delhi. This report is expected to foster healthy competition among DISCOMs, motivating them to enhance the quality of services provided to consumers. Participants in the meeting included the Secretary (Power) and Secretary (MNRE) of the Government of India, along with Additional Chief Secretaries, Secretaries, Principal Secretaries (Power/Energy) from states, and CMDs of State Power Utilities.

Furthermore, the Minister inaugurated Powerthon 2024, an initiative enabling startups and entrepreneurs to participate in an incubation program, seeking guidance and resources from established domestic incubators to develop prototypes addressing key issues faced by power DISCOMs. Additionally, the Minister released the Electricity Distribution Network Planning Criteria formulated by the Central Electricity Authority, covering various aspects of distribution planning processes at the Sub-Transmission and distribution levels, including the introduction of smart technologies.

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In his address to power sector stakeholders, the Union Minister highlighted the substantial progress made by the country’s power sector. The average daily availability of power supply in rural areas increased from 12.5 hours per day in 2015-16 to approximately 21 hours, while urban areas experienced an improvement from 20 to 23.8 hours per day. The Minister declared electricity shortage a thing of the past, emphasizing the achievement of significant milestones, such as electrifying 29 million households and reducing AT&C losses from 27 percent in 2014-15 to 15.41 percent in 2023.

However, the Minister expressed concern over the increase in the ACS-ARR gap from Rs. 0.15 per unit to Rs. 0.45 per unit in the last year, urging distribution utilities to make concerted efforts to enhance viability to attract future investments. The Minister underscored the need for resource adequacy to support the country’s continued economic growth and raised concerns about gratuitous load shedding by certain DISCOMs, asserting that load shedding is not an option. He insisted on consumers’ right to 24×7 reliable power supplies and stressed the importance of compensating consumers for load shedding as per rules.

Several key points were highlighted during the meeting, including the encouragement of rooftop solar installations, the readiness to meet increased demand during the summer season, the reflective nature of tariffs, and the importance of correct subsidy accounting by DISCOMs. States were advised to submit proposals for agricultural feeder segregation in mission mode and undertake infrastructure works for distribution sector improvement.

The Minister emphasised the unified nature of electricity in India and urged states to partner with CPSEs for the benefits of Pumped Storage potential. He stressed the completion of Resource Adequacy Studies/Plans by March 2024 and the pursuit of 100 percent segregation of agricultural feeders and subsequent solarisation. The meeting also covered discussions on stability of power supply, MNRE interventions, and the successful implementation of smart meter projects under RDSS.