Discoms to pay for power cuts

Power cuts, except when there are valid technical reasons, would soon result in distribution companies being penalised.

This move by the Centre comes in the wake of the country being power surplus and taking forward the plan to provide undisrupted power supply to all.

Union power minister R.K. Singh said the Centre would bring a law to penalise the distribution companies for power cuts to any sector without a technical reason.

At a recent meeting, he said the Centre had done the groundwork for providing round-the-clock power to all. All states were adopting the online system in the power sector.

TS power officials said with the system being online, officers in Delhi could know which area in any state had supply disruptions. If power supply was disrupted to a single home, it could be known through the system, they added.

AP has been power surplus since the bifurcation in 2014 and Telangana state would attain that status from 2018. After the bifurcation there have been no power cuts to any sector in the state.

Some states were stopping power purchase due to financial and other issues and imposing power cuts. Mr Singh said, “Any power distribution company going in for load shedding (power cuts) after a specified date would be penalised by the Centre.”