THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF POWER
( SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA )
(a) : As per the information available, following States are providing
free electricity to their agricultural consumers with certain conditions:
State Remarks
Karnataka Free electricity for consumers having 10 HP pumps.
Andhra Pradesh It is available free for farmers who participate in Demand Side Management (DSM) and:-
- have wet land up to 2.5 acres; or - If with dry land then only up to 3 connections per farmer.
These consumers are also charged Rs.20 per month as customer charges.
Puducherry Free electricity for small farmers with land holding not exceeding 2.5 acres of wetland or 5 acres of dry land but they are charged Rs.50/- per HP per annum as a fixed/demand charge.
Madhya Pradesh Free electricity only for SC/ST agriculture consumers with land holding up to 1.0 hectare and up to 5 HP pump set.
Tamil Nadu Free to all agriculture consumers
Chhattisgarh - Free up to 6000 units per annum for farmers with load up to 3 HP and up to 7500 units per annum for farmers with load between 3 HP to 5 HP.
Details of electricity supply to agriculture for the years 2008-09 to
2010-11 are at Annex-A. State wise details of electricity supply to agriculture
for the year 2011-12 & current year are not available.
(b) to (d) : As per PFC report on `Performance of state Power Utilities for the
years 2008-09 to 2010-11`, based on the account details provided by the
utilities, most of the utilities selling directly to consumers have incurred losses
during the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. Details are given in Annex-B.
State/Discom wise data pertaining to the year 2011-12 and
current year is not available.
(e) : Distribution of power is the responsibility of the Discoms. Central
Government acts as a facilitator in supplementing the efforts of States to
provide power to consumers in an improved manner.
The steps taken by the Union Government to improve the
power generation in the country are given in Annex-C.
The steps taken by the Union Government to improve distribution
sector and to reduce the losses of SEBs/power distribution companies of the
country are given in Annex-D.
