In its letter to the ministry on the draft law, SPI suggested including provisions for promoting ‘decentralised distributed generation’, similar to that defined in the Electricity Act Amendment draft released for stakeholder consultations on September 7, 2018
New Delhi: Rockfeller Foundation arm Smart Power India (SPI) has made a case for decentralised power generation, franchise models and smart grids in the new electricity law. The Ministry of Power had sought comments on the draft Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020 circulated in April this year.
In its letter to the ministry on the draft law, SPI suggested including provisions for promoting ‘decentralised distributed generation’, similar to that defined in the Electricity Act Amendment draft released for stakeholder consultations on September 7, 2018.
This will bring in innovation to remote rural areas and help in providing affordable and reliable electricity to all customers through off-grid and grid integration models, it added.
SPI also supported microgrids for villages in the country.
A microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid.
The microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island-mode.
It also recommended providing a model structure, detailed guidelines and responsibilities of (power) distribution sub-licencees.
The Electricity Act Amendment draft released for stakeholder consultations on September 7, 2018, detailed out the structure and guidelines for ‘distribution licencee’ and ‘supply licencee’.
Presently, different models and terms and conditions are followed for appointment of distribution franchisees across states, SPI said.
“This has led mixed outcomes of success and failures of the franchisees. The failures are due to inadequate risk sharing mechanism, inaccurate baselining and lack of true sense of partnership between discoms and private player,” it said.
It also recommended including provisions for promoting ‘smart grids’.
Introducing ‘smart grids’ and ‘smart metering’ will bring in investments in technology and innovation that will contribute to providing affordable and reliable electricity to all customers, it said.
Smart grids and metering ecosystem will also introduce transparency through real-time monitoring of electricity supply thus enhancing customer service, it added.
SPI, a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, was established in 2015 to develop and scale sustainable models to accelerate electricity access and spur economic development among under-served communities.
Source: PTI
