ITANAGAR, 27 Dec: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, who is also the minister in charge of power and non-conventional energy resources, on Monday held a meeting with the chief engineers (CE) of the power department, the APEDA and the hydropower department as a follow-up to the meeting he had attended in Guwahati (Assam) on 3 December with the union power minister on the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
Mein urged the CEs to be professional and dedicated in carrying out the exercise to prepare the DPR and the action plan for the implementation of the RDSS in the state in a time-bound manner.
“The RDSS is the greatest reform that is being implemented by the government of India and we should leave no stone unturned to implement the scheme,” he said.
The DCM directed the officers to carry out the work on a mission mode and formulate the roadmap for the implementation of the scheme to reduce losses, strengthen the distribution infrastructure, and achieve the required objective of the scheme.
The nodal officer from the Rural Electrification Corporation made a presentation on the preparation of the DPR and the action plan of the power department for the implementation of the RDSS.
The union power ministry has launched the reforms-based and results-linked RDSS to improve the operational efficiency and financial sustainability of state-owned DISCOMs/power departments by providing financial assistance to DISCOMs for modernization and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, aiming at improving the reliability and quality of supply to the end-consumers.
The action plans of the states include multiple reform measures aimed towards loss reduction, implementation of smart prepaid metering of the majority of their consumer base, 100 percent feeder level energy accounting by FY ’23, re-conducting of old/frayed conductors, conversion to LT ABC, bifurcation of feeders, segregation of agriculture feeders, and upgrading billing and other IT/OT systems, in addition to working towards improving the quality and reliability of supply.
Earlier, in the morning, the DCM held a meeting with the senior officers of the finance, planning & investment department (FPID) regarding the forthcoming pre-budget consultation meeting scheduled to be chaired by union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on 30 December.
Finance department advisor Jambey Tashi, Planning Commissioner PS Lokhande, Finance Principal Secretary Sharat Chauhan and officers from the FPID were present at the meeting. (DCM’s PR Cell)
