CHANDIGARH: Power sector needs a big boost in the budget to strengthen the transmission system particularly in rural areas, 100% metering to bring down transmission losses,  reduction in clean energy cess and electricity be brought under GST, said V K Gupta Spokesperson All India power Engineers Federation (AIPEF)

The biggest  launch  in power sector is  Saubhagya scheme , which really seeks to push the last mile to every household in this country. The maximum number  (90%)of un-electrified houses are in UP and Bihar only . Under the scheme However as per the data available all the households of country could not be electrified up to  31st December. However now it has been claimed that all willing households have been given electricity in the country.

  Looking into  weak power system network in far away rural areas which may require more finances to get strengthened to meet the requirements of new added connections in one year, this problem needs to be addressed in Budget.

Another area is to bring down line losses below 15% level . In many states the unmetered power supply is being given on fixed charges basis. The installation of meters in every house is required to bring down line losses and curb power theft. Sufficient budget grants for states to complete the 100% metering is required.

With the large capacity addition in solar and wind, clean energy cess which is around Rs 400/Ton charged on coal, can be  brought down to Rs100/Ton as the  cost of coal has gone exorbitantly high. This  relaxation would benefit the consumers themselves

Electricity should be brought under GST. With electricity kept outside the purview of GST, set-off of taxes in power generation, transmission and distribution has not been rationalized with the resultant increase in the cost of power due to the cascading of taxes.

The cost of mismanagement by the private sector should not be allowed to be passed on to consumers whether it is from stressed assets problems or revision of power purchase agreements.

Currently, basic customs duty (BCD) at the rate of 2.5 percent is levied on import of coal. It is crucial that the BCD rate on coal is reduced to nil in the upcoming Budget, so as to bring down the cost of production of electricity and to revive the sector from debt. Another welcome move that could boost the power sector would be a lower GST rate on coal which is currently taxed at 5 percent.