Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the ministry of power’s flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The scheme will enable distribution companies (discoms) to modernise and strengthen the distribution infrastructure and improve the reliability and quality of supply of power to end consumers.
With this new scheme, all other previous schemes such as Integrated Power Development Scheme, Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) would stand subsumed. RDSS mandates compulsory installation of smart meters across the country. The Centre has set an ambitious target of installing 250 million smart meters by 2025.
Half of the scheme’s outlay is for better feeder and transformer metering and pre-paid smart consumer metering. The remaining half will be spent on power loss reduction and strengthening networks.
It also aims to reduce the AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% and ACS-ARR (average cost of supply-average revenue realised) gap to zero by 2024-25. REC and PFC have been nominated as nodal agencies for the scheme.
The scheme offers discoms conditional finance linked to the achievement of milestones, including advance payments of tariff subsidies, clearance of government department dues, and liquidation of regulatory assets.
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