Modi was addressing the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ event. The prime minister also launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, with an outlay of over ₹3 lakh crore over five years, to improve the operational efficiency and financial sustainability of power distribution companies (discoms).
Speaking of the financial stress of companies the power sector, Modi said losses of Indian discoms are in double digits. He said discoms are owed more than 60,000 crore rupees by various government departments and local bodies, and funds committed as subsidy by different states are yet to be cleared.
“This (subsidy) arrear is also more than ₹75,000 crore. Those responsible for activities ranging from the generation of electricity to the door-to-door delivery, their ₹2.5 trillion is trapped."
Prime minister Modi said that during the last eight years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, meanwhile, said, that the power ministry's revamped distribution sector scheme is aimed at improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of the discoms and power departments. “With an outlay of over ₹3 lakh crore over a period of five years from FY2021-22 to FY2025-26, the scheme aims to provide financial assistance to discoms for modernisation and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, focussing on the improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers."
The scheme also aims to reduce pan-India AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses of 12-15%, and the ACS-ARR (average cost of supply-average revenue realised) gap to zero by 2024-25.
At the event, Modi also laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC and launched the National Solar Rooftop Portal.
India is among the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity and also has one of the world's largest solar plants, he said.
Energy has a huge role to play in accelerating India’s progress over the next 25 years, Modi said, adding that the projects launched today were significant steps in the direction of India's green energy and overall energy security. These projects will strengthen India’s renewable energy goals, commitment and aspirations of its green mobility, he said.
Modi announced that work on two big green hydrogen projects in Ladakh and Gujarat has started. The plant being set up in Ladakh will produce green hydrogen for vehicles in the country. This will be the first project in the country which will make commercial use of green hydrogen-based transport possible.
“Ladakh very soon will be the first place in the country where fuel cell electric vehicles will start to ply. This will help in making Ladakh a carbon-neutral region," he said.
The prime minister also informed that after blending ethanol in petrol and aviation fuel, now the country is moving towards blending green hydrogen in piped natural gas pipelines, which will reduce import dependence on natural gas.
“We had resolved to create 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the completion of 75 years of independence. Today we have come close to this goal. So far, about 170 GW capacity has been installed from non-fossil sources," the prime minister said.
