State Power and Renewable Energy Ministers' Conference gets underway in Kochi; Shri Piyush Goyal Says Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana will wipe out losses of discoms by 2019; Expresses hope that India would achieve renewable energy targets in four and a half years from now

State Power and Renewable Energy Ministers' Conference gets underway in Kochi; Shri Piyush Goyal Says Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana will wipe out losses of discoms by 2019; Expresses hope that India would achieve renewable energy targets in four and a half years from now The Union Minister of State (IC) for Power Coal & New Renewable Energy, Shri. Piyush Goyal has said that the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) approved by the Union Cabinet will help in a big way in wiping out the losses of discoms by 2019. Inaugurating the Conference of Power, Renewable Energy & Mines Ministers of State and Union Territories in Kochi, Kerala today, he said, a clear road map has been drawn to solve the present crisis of discoms. The Minister assured that apprehensions regarding the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act would be addressed. Shri. Piyush Goyal also said that with the Centre and States working together, the target which was set for six years for Renewable Energy production would be attained in four and half years. The Minister said "I am confident that we can achieve the Renewable energy targets, not necessarily six-and-half years from now but possibly even in four-and-half years from now, if we all work together as a team," Referring to India's announced renewable energy plan whereby the target for installed solar power capacity has been set at 100 GW by 2022, the Minister sought cooperation and support of the states to make it a reality by 2020, saying "it is a concern for the environment". "It is a concern for the better planet for next generation.... cannot be the concern of Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi alone, cannot be the concern of the Central government alone. ...It has to be shared concern and the shared responsibility of all of us sitting in this room," Shri. Goyal said while strongly pitching for an ambitious renewable energy targets much ahead of the declared timeframe. In its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC last month, India has pledged to improve emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels. "INDCs towards climate change, which have been widely acclaimed all over the world as some of the finest measures by any country in the world. "... Renewable energy is one of the pillars of the INDCs and our renewable energy programme is the largest programme anywhere in the world in the next five or seven years," Shri. Goyal said. The Minister said Team India will have to work to make India a powerful economy-- an economy that cares for environment, that develops rapidly but develop efficiently ensuring that the effect on the environment is kept to the bare minimum. Addressing the Conference, Shri. P.K. Pujari , Secretary , Power has said that state specific issues are being addressed in meeting the target announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence day address for electrifying the remaining 18500 un -electrified villages of the country during the next 1000 days. Secretary, MNRE, Shri. Upendra Tripathy said that Renewable Energy is not electricity alone but a package of health and environment. Ministers from fifteen states and Delhi are attending the two day conference. They include, Shri. K. Atchannaidu, Minister for Labour, Employment & Sports, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Shri. Mahesh Gagda, Minister for Forest Law& Legislative Affairs, Govt. of Chattisgarh, Shri. C. P. Singh, Minister for Urban Development Housing and Transport, Govt. of Jharkhand, Shri. D. K. Shivakumar, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Karnataka, Shri. Aryadan Muhammed, Minister for Power, Govt. of Kerala, Shri. Rajendra Shukla, Minister for Enegry, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Shri. Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister for Energy, New & Renewable Energy, Govt of Maharashtra, Shri. C. Kipli Sangtam, Minister for Power, Govt. of Nagaland, Minister of State for Energy, Govt of Rajasthan, Shri. D.D. Bhutia, Minister for Power and Energy, Govt. of Sikkim, Shri. Natham R. Viswanathan, Minister for Electricity, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Shri. G. Jagdish Reddy, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Telengana, Shri. Manik Dey, Minister for Power, Urban Development, Rural Development& Transport, Govt. of Tripura, Shri. Yasar Shah, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Shri. Manish Gupta, Minister for Power, Govt. of West Bengal, and Minister for Power, Govt. of National Capital Territory, Delhi. The agenda of two days of deliberations include preparation and implementation of State specific documents of 24x7 Power of All, Electrification of remaining un-electrified villages in mission mode, Expeditious implementation of Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Jyothi Yojana (DDUGJY), implementation of Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Strategies for AT&C loss reduction, Smart Grid, Financial health of discoms, Advance transmission planning, Right of Way (RoW) issues in transmission projects, Green Energy Corridor I& II. In the Thermal sector, discussions will be held on support of state governments for thermal projects in: land acquisition, ensuing congenial law & order situation, Coal swapping-methodology and benefits, Coal linkage policy and third party sampling of coal. Discussions will also be held on how to expedite the completion of 36 ongoing Hydropower Projects and to resolve issues related to eleven stranded or stalled projects and formulation of transparent and progressive Hydropower policy and resettlement & rehabilitation policy. In the field of Energy conservation, there will be review on the progress of implementation of Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) and Street Light National Programme (SLNP). Another topic of discussion would be promoting the use of Energy Efficient Agricultural Pump sets, Appliances and Energy Efficiency in industrial units through demand side management. In the area of Renewable Energy, State wise review will be taken on the progress of fixing of RPOs, evacuation and transmission infrastructure to match the target of 1,75,000 MW by 2022 and achievement thereof, progress of solar parks, solar pumps and projects on canal tops and banks sanctioned to states, exploring the feasibility of sanctioning 25 more solar parks to the states, identification of solar zones in states and rooftop SPV projects especially in regard to government buildings, educational and health institutions, expediting development of wind power projects and waiving of the intra-state transmission losses and charges for wind power projects.

State Power and Renewable Energy Ministers' Conference gets underway in Kochi; Shri Piyush Goyal Says Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana will wipe out losses of discoms by 2019; Expresses hope that India would achieve renewable energy targets in four and a half years from now

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