Union Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal, reviewed the power sector scenario for the State of Tamil Nadu at Chennai today. Hon’ble Energy Minister of Tamil Nadu, was present in the meeting. The meeting was also attended by senior officials of the State Government, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India (GoI), and senior officials of the Power Sector CPSEs.

The meeting started with a presentation on the brief overview of the Power Sector Scenario in Tamil Nadu. Thereafter, officials from Ministry of Power gave a presentation on the status of works sanctioned by Government of India under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in the State which would help in improving the quality and reliability of power supply across the State thus enhancing overall consumer satisfaction. Also, major challenges and possible solutions were discussed.

In his address, Shri Manohar Lal, Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs mentioned that his visit to the State as Power Minister will be important in understanding and in resolution of the issues in the Power sector in the State. He emphasized on the need for increasing the share of renewable sources of power generation.

He commended the State for the efforts done to improve Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses. He also highlighted the need for clearing outstanding Government department dues and timely settlement of bills through established mechanism at State level. He suggested for implementation of reform measures so as to improve the financial performance of the State including ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply-Average Revenue Realised) Gap. He highlighted the role that RDSS would play to bring improvement in the electricity distribution sector and advised the State Government to make all efforts for expeditious implementation of the sanctioned works under RDSS. He also advised the State to explore ways to reduce outstanding debt and losses. He suggested for expediting completion of electrification works of balance PVTG households.

He mentioned that sincere efforts will go a long way in making the State DISCOM financially viable and State Power sector self-sufficient.

Union Minister assured for continued support and cooperation of the Government of India in the overall development of the State.

Hon’ble Energy Minister, Tamil Nadu welcomed the Hon'ble Union Minister for his visit to Chennai for review of State of Tamil Nadu in respect of issues related to Urban development and the Power sector. He assured of taking necessary measures for expeditious implementation of the works sanctioned for the State under RDSS and improve financial performance of the State.

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