PM to meet CMs on power sector reforms

Seeks ways to control power theft.

The chief ministers' conference on power summoned by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on February 13 has an ambitious 12-point agenda that ranges from seeking ways to control power theft to handling the politically sensitive issue of free electricity for constituencies like farmers. The ultra mega power project initiative will also get top billing at the meeting.

Besides CMs, invitees to the high-level meeting include Planning Commission member Kirit Parikh, heads and members of various electricity regulators, senior railway officials, secretaries of finance, revenue, economic affairs, atomic energy, coal, petroleum, panchayati raj and rural development departments. Detailed agenda papers are being dispatched to the invitees.

"The meeting will take a comprehensive view of a number of issues. These will include discussions on facilitating open access in power distribution, encouraging captive power generation and harnessing power generated through such plants to the national grid," a senior power ministry official told Business Standard.

The meeting will also discuss demands made by various states for free power from pithead-based power stations.

Some states, particularly those that have significant coal reserves, are keen to see that some share of the power generated by central PSUs like National Thermal Power Corporation is given to them on preferential terms.

On the vital and yet under-developed hydro power sector, the meeting will try and formulate ways and means to increase inter-state cooperation for exploiting resources.

"Eliciting support for the power ministry's ambitious ultra mega power project will be one of the top agendas of the meeting," the official added. The PM is also expected to impress upon the states the need for more efforts to involve the private sector in capacity addition.

The preparation of states for augmenting generation resources during the 11th Plan will be reviewed.

The implementation of the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme is another subject that the meeting will try to address. The scheme's progress has been a cause of concern for the Planning Commission, among others.

Sources added that business plans for commercial revival (of state electricity boards) will also be taken up at the meeting. "The participants will further hold discussions on coming up with an action plan for energy conservation," officials added.