Electricity to be available like mobile connection: UP power minister

Interview with Shrikant Sharma, Power Minister, Uttar Pradesh

The poll war for the seat of power in Uttar Pradesh (UP) was fought on several issues, one being electricity. The now-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in its poll manifesto promised 24-hour supply. However, this delivery will be on the shoulders of its debt-ridden distribution companies (discoms), a beleaguered system and years of a distorted rate structure. SHRIKANT SHARMA, the state’s power minister, tells Archis Mohan and Shreya Jai what they intend to do. Edited excerpts:
 
UP recently signed a ‘power for all’ agreement with the Centre. What are some of its salient features?
 
The past government due to its own political motives did not sign it but we went ahead, as we want to give cheap power to consumers. We currently have 16,500 megawatt (Mw) available; during peak hours, demand rises to 17,500 Mw or more. To start with, we are now a part of the central pool to procure power through medium-term agreements. We would participate in the bidding on DEEP (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price, the Union power ministry’s e-bidding and e-reverse auction portal for procurement of short-term power by discoms). The benefit would be passed on to consumers. It is the Prime Minister’s vision that the state should have 24-hour power by 2019, and every village and farm should get power at cheap rates.
 
We have come up with a one-time settlement scheme. Under this, we have waived surcharge on both rural and urban consumers. For the first time, we have included small-scale industries and offered that they pay their dues in one go and get 50 per cent waiver in their surcharge. And, asked all those with illegal connections to get this legalised.
 
UP’s discoms have one of the highest cumulative debts. You are offering subsidy at a time when the debt is under restructuring and future financing is uncertain. How feasible is this model?
 
Our power department has Rs 15,000 crore of losses. We want to fix this but energy theft is a big issue. The biggest hurdle between the power department, the honest consumer and 24-hour supply is energy theft. Yogi Adityanath said whichever feeder has no energy theft and gives robust revenues will be rewarded with 24-hour supply before time. We have started 24-hour supply in 74 feeders.
 
What is being done to improve the operations of discoms?
 
We want to end man-to-man connect as much as we can and go digital. We will go completely online — from bill payment to requests for connection or load change. We want to introduce a trust bill. If you don’t get a bill, you click the photo of your meter and give your bill. We hope the honesty that prevails in this government will also percolate down to the consumer.
 
UP is also procuring costly power through long-term agreements. How will that be tackled?
 
In the past 15 years, a lot of gaps have been created by past governments and our primary objective is to fill these. We have to fix the shabby system in existence.
 
We have decided on a roster for power supply — 18 hours to villages, 20 hours to tehsils, the Bundelkhand area and 24 hours to district headquarters. This roster was also introduced by Akhilesh Yadav (the earlier chief minister) but he could not execute it; his VIP areas were restricted to Azamgarh or Saifai (poll strongholds). For us, the consumer is a VIP. For us, it is upbhogta devo bhava (the consumer is God).
 
But, you would have to mind the health of discoms as well, along with rationalising of rates.
 
We are looking at short-term measures for some instant relief. Only after the consumer trusts that the government would provide him 24-hour supply, will he join hands with us. For the past 15 years, only honest consumers were harassed — they were paying bills but not getting electricity. And, the state was incurring losses.
 
What is the progress under IPDS (Integrated Power Development Scheme) and DDUGJY (for rural electrification)?
 
We have kept the goal of electrifying 25,000 villages in 100 days. We have kept the target of giving 500,000 connections, metering these. There are still 184,000 households where we have to take electricity. There are still 6.8 million families where a meter has not reached despite having a connection.
 
How will you ensure household electrification?
 
We recently awarded a gram pradhan who achieved 100 per cent electrification in his village. Our scheme is that the way one gets a mobile connection, you will get electricity connection. We are giving 10,000 free solar-run farm pumps from which the government would purchase surplus power, if any.
 
The amount of subsidy and free pumps, etc, that you are giving would need a higher budgetary allocation.
 
Even after 60 years of Independence, villages are powerless. If education is a fundamental right, so is electricity.