(a) whether several State Electricity Boards (SEBs) in the country
are incurring commercial losses;
(b) if so, the details of the loss suffered by each SEB during each of
the last three years, State-wise and the reasons therefor;
(c) whether any working group has been constituted by the
Government to look into the issue;
(d) if so, the details and the findings thereof; and
(e) the action taken by the Government thereon?
THE MINISTER OF POWER(SHRI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE)
(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF
STARRED QUESTION NO. 87 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK
SABHA ON 20.02.2009 REGARDING COMMERCIAL LOSSES
OF SEBs.
(a) & (b): Yes, Sir. The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has,
for the last few years, been publishing an Annual Report on
the Performance of State Power Utilities (State Electricity
Boards [SEBs]/unbundled utilities/Power Departments) and
private distribution companies created as a result of reform
measures in various States. The 5th Report covering the
performance of State Power Utilities for the years 2004-05 to
2006-07 has been published by PFC. As per this report, the
details of State-wise losses incurred are given in Annex-I.
The source of data for computation of the information (audited, provisional annual accounts/annual resource plans)
is enclosed at Annex-II. Some of the main reasons for
SEBs/Power Utilities incurring commercial losses are High
Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses in the
system and average revenue from sale of power being less
than the average cost of supply in case of certain category of
consumers such as BPL (Below Poverty Line) and agricultural
consumers.
(c) to (e) : No, Sir. The SEBs/Power Utilities are under the
jurisdiction of their respective State Governments and
Electricity Regulatory Commissions set up under the
Electricity Act, 2003. However, the Central Government has
taken the following major initiatives in this regard:
i) The Electricity Act, 2003 provides that the tariff will be
regulated by the Electricity Regulatory Commissions on
the basis of principles laid down in the Act which, inter-
alia, include efficiency improvement and reduction of
cross-subsidies.
ii) Theft is one of the main reasons of high AT&C losses.
Legal provisions in the Electricity Act, 2003 for dealing
with theft of electricity have been further strengthened
by the Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2007, making the
offence of theft cognisable and non-bailable.
iii) Emphasis is given on metering of feeders and supply to
consumers for energy accounting and auditing for
identifying the location of high losses so that corrective
measures can be taken.
iv) Restructured Accelerated Power Development and
Reforms Programme (APDRP) has been sanctioned for
the XI Plan as a Central Sector Scheme. The focus of
the programme is on actual demonstrable performance
in terms of sustained loss reduction.