Power Bill is for real, pick your company

‘‘The Presidential assent to the Bill was received on Tuesday, and the Power Ministry will work to notify the same,’’ Shahi said, adding that rural electricity supply and electrification policies would also be formulated.

Shahi clarified that distribution bodies would not be allowed to cherry-pick and will carry an obligation to supply power to all consumers in the specified area.

The Electricity Bill passed by Parliament last month after a two-year debate promises to usher in sweeping changes.

It will enable consumers to choose from companies trying to best each other in terms of efficiency, services and attractive packages with committed number of units’ usage and fixed rates, for say six months.

It will also be possible for groups of people or cooperatives to get together and set up their own power plants to supply to a specified area like a residential colony. So you need not be at the mercy of public sector power utilities and face unending power cuts in the long summers.

The Bill not only tries to unshackle the sector of controls and promotes competition from the private sector but also protects consumer interest and promises to take power to all parts of the country.

States will be required to set up special courts relating to electricity crimes for fast trials and conviction of power thieves.

The Bill pushes power reforms through three radical measures: competition in power distribution through an open access system; extension of the scope of captive power generation to cooperatives and associations; and, forcing state electricity boards to unbundle their three functions — power generation, transmission and distribution.

The Bill will now also make it possible for a more rational power tariff system, ending all cross-subsidies — no more urban dwellers paying for politicians’ fancy of supplying free power to farmers in exchange for votes.

It’s expected to bring in a new era with private participation in the power sector which has been the single largest failure ever since the economic reforms of the early 1990s.