Telangana Opposes Proposed Amendments to the Electricity Act

The Ministry of Power issued the draft amendments in April 2020

September 18, 2020

thumbnail

The Telangana State Legislative Assembly has accepted the state government’s resolution opposing the central government’s proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003.

In April 2020, the Ministry of Power (MoPissued a draft proposal to amend the Electricity Act 2003 to address contract enforcement, renewable purchase obligations (RPO), among other vital issues. The Ministry had invited comments, suggestions, and objections from stakeholders.

The Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekhar Rao, stated that the proposed bill is prepared “against the federal spirit” and intended to seize the rights of states. He added that the proposed bill would be harmful to the interests of farmers and the poor.

Before this, several states had spoken up against the proposed amendments.

In July 2020, in a letter to the Union Power Minister, R.K. Singh, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edapaddi K Palaniswamy, underlined several concerns relating to the proposed amendment. In the letter, Palaniswamy noted that the proposed privatization of distribution networks would adversely affect distribution companies (DISCOMs) and would lead to massive losses for the DISCOMs.

“Allowing private franchisees or sublicensee would only lead to cherry-picking of remunerative areas by the franchisee or the sub-distribution licensee affecting the DISCOMs directly. The state DISCOMs will be left with serving social sector obligations and rural areas, which will result in massive losses to the DISCOMs,” said Palaniswamy.

Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission also expressed its disagreement with the government’s proposed amendments to the Electricity Act in a letter to the Ministry of Power.

In the letter, the APERC noted that the ‘National Renewable Energy Policy’ might be detrimental to the interests of state governments and distribution licensees. The new policy could restrict state governments and distribution licensees’ ability to set the RPO targets based on state requirements and divest the responsibility to the central authority. It added that this would turn state agencies into mere executing agencies.

Also, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited raised several objections to the amendment.

Mercom recently analyzed some of the important amendments the Ministry of Power had proposed that would directly impact the renewable sector and invigorate it.

RELATED POSTS

thumbnail
Top 5 States for Open Access Solar Installations in CY 2022

India added an impressive 2.5 GW open access solar capacity in 2022, registering a growth of 92% year-over-year (YoY), according to the 2022 Q4 & Annual Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report. Karnataka emerged as the to...

March 23, 2023

Markets & Policy

Government Clarifies ALMM Enlistment Guidelines for Co-branded Solar Modules

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has modified the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) guidelines and provided exceptions to broaden the qualification criteria for modules produced under agreements betwe...

March 24, 2023

C&I

In Bengaluru, a 100 kW Solar System Can Save C&I Entities ₹1 Million Annually

Mercom India successfully concluded the C&I Clean Energy Meet 2023 in Bengaluru, where stakeholders in the solar sector and commercial and industrial entities converged to enthusiastically discuss the benefits of renewable ene...

March 24, 2023

Other

Gensol Acquires Solar Tracker Maker Scorpius for ₹1.35 Billion

Gensol Engineering, a part of solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company Gensol Group, has acquired India-based solar tracker manufacturer Scorpius Trackers for ₹1.35 billion ($16.4 million). Gensol said the ac...

March 23, 2023

Magazine

DON'T MISS AN ISSUE!

Mercom Cleantech Magazine

Get Your Copy Today!

magazines

Latest News

thumbnail
Government Clarifies ALMM Enlistment Guidelines for Co-branded Solar Modules

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has modified the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) guidelines and provided exceptions to broaden the qualification criteria for modules produced under agreements...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
Intra-State Sections of Evacuation Infrastructure for Renewables Delayed

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy that the intra-state stretches of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) have been delayed due to various reasons, including...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
EnBW Takes €2.4 Billion Final Investment Decision on Offshore Wind Project

German electric utility company Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (EnBW) has made its final €2.4 billion (~$2.6 billion) investment decision on He Dreiht, a major wind project in the German North Sea. The project has a capacity of 960...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
India Missed 2022 Renewables Target as Rooftop Solar and Wind fell Short

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy report has isolated underwhelming progress on rooftop solar and wind energy projects as the primary reason for India falling short of achieving its renewable energy capacity target...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
Researchers Aim to Accelerate Delivery of Space-Based Solar Power to Earth

Researchers at Northumbria University are studying ways of producing wireless electricity from space to Earth by harvesting the Sun’s energy. U.S.-based aerospace, defense, and information security organization Lockheed Martin...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
Regulator Directs Wind Energy Firm, MSEDCL, to Recompute Delayed Payment Charge

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) recently directed Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) to recompute the delayed payment charge from...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
One-Step Coating Could Make Perovskite Solar Cells Commercially Viable

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has devised a new way to produce perovskite solar cells that could speed its commercialization. Different layers are typically added sequentially to a conductive glass substrate to...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
ACWA Power to Develop Solar and Energy Storage Projects in Uzbekistan

Saudi Arabia-based energy company ACWA Power has signed power purchase and investment agreements with  National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, and the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade to develop new solar and battery...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
China Securities Regulatory Commission Approves Canadian Solar’s IPO

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the registration of CSI Solar, the engineering, procurement, and construction arm of solar module maker Canadian Solar, to issue an initial public offering (IPO). The...

March 24, 2023

thumbnail
Renewables Accounted for 83% of the Total Generation Capacity Added in 2022

Renewable capacity grew by 9.6% in 2022, adding a record 295 GW worldwide. This accounts for 83% of all power capacity added last year and brings the global renewable generation capacity to 3,372 GW by the end of last year, a...

March 24, 2023

MORE NEWS