 "Piyush Goyal")
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said so far Rs 1,67,000 crore worth of bonds have been issued under the Ujjwal Distribution Assurance Yojana (UDAY) and it is now hot property and in demand.
Terming UDAY as a game changer, the minister reiterated that there will be annual savings of Rs 1,80,000 crore for the country from 2019 onwards, and that some savings will start accruing from now
"UDAY will be a game changer and defining moment. So far, the success has been very satisfying," Goyal said here at the sidelines of the 69th annual general meeting of Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers' Association.
Goyal said that UDAY is not a financial bailout for the distribution sector. He informed that so far 16 states have signed agreements with the Centre to join UDAY.
"One cannot expect overnight wonders. Schemes launched in the past for the revival of distribution sector had opened floodgates for new borrowings but UDAY has plugged that headroom and thereby indiscriminate fresh borrowings have been clipped. There will be short-term pain but in the long-term UDAY will create a sustainable and viable distribution sector," he noted.
On the government’s plan to add 100,000 Mw of solar capacity by 2022, Goyal said his ministry expects that it may even this target. "When I took over in May 2014 the solar capacity was 2,600 Mw but after two years and four months it is now 8,000 Mw," he added.
According to the minister, the government is helping the Indian solar equipment manufacturers to increase their capacity to achieve Make In India, Made in India and Made for the World. "The local manufacturers have withdrawn their earlier demand for impose the anti dumping duty on import of solar equipment. I assure you whatever capacity domestic manufacturers create the
Government of India will support to utilise it in India. Initially, they had problem with the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute but now there are eight cases pending against the US in the WTO," he added.
On the low plant-load factor (PLF), Goyal said the 45,000 Mw of stranded thermal capacity has become operational and generating power. This apart, there has been an increase in generation from solar, wind and hydro. The generation is rapidly ramping up in the short-term despite seven per cent growth in power consumption. Therefore, PLF is seen going down. However, the rise in generation creates confidence in the world that India is the country to invest in, as a country of shortage cannot attract international investors," he said.
