Quality 24X7 power supply key for accelerated growth

New Delhi: Power Minister R K Singh on Friday said that providing quality and reliable power supply round-the-clock is a key factor for accelerated growth of the economy.

"Providing 24x7 quality and reliable power supply with enhanced consumer satisfaction is very important as this is the key ingredient for accelerated growth of economy and country at large," Singh said in a statement after chairing a review meeting.

He chaired the virtual meeting with Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries (Power/Energy) and CMDs/MDs of DISCOMS of all States/UTs. Minister of State for Power Krishan Pal Gurjar, Union Secretary Power Alok Kumar and senior power ministry officials were also present at the meeting.

During the meeting, reforms being undertaken in the power sector as well as on the guidelines of the new Reforms Based and Results Linked Distribution Sector Scheme were reviewed. IPDS and DDUGJY Schemes were also reviewed. At the meeting, Singh said the power sector has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years in the areas of generation, transmission and distribution. With a total installed generation capacity of 384 GW, the country has transformed from a power deficit to a power surplus country.

Transmission network has been expanded to connect the whole country into one integrated grid with inter-regional transfer capacity of over 1 lakh MW, he noted.

With the joint efforts of the Centre and state governments, universal access has been achieved, with 100 per cent electrification of the villages and electrification of 2.82 crore households, the minister said and emphasised that in today's scenario, all policies and programmes should be

consumer centric.