KEY POINTS

·        Petroleum and natural gas, coal, renewable energy and nuclear energy have separate ministries or departments.

·        We also have a Ministry of Power, along with State-level bodies that regulate electricity distribution companies, or DISCOMS.

·        Add to this, the presence of different regulators for each type of fuel and energy source which makes it cumbersome for businesses operating in this sector.

Data constraints

·        No single agency collects energy data in a wholesome and integrated manner. Data pertaining to consumption are barely available while supply side data collected by agencies of respective ministries are riddled with gaps.

·        The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation collates data available from various ministries and conducts surveys at sporadic intervals.

·        In the Draft National Energy Policy (NEP), the NITI Aayog has advocated that a Unified Ministry of Energy be created by merging the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Coal (MoC), New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Power (MoP).

Enabling optimisation

·        A single unified ministry of energy would help India to have an integrated outlook on energy that would enable us optimise our limited resources to meet the goals of energy security, sustainability and accessibility.

·        In the fast-changing energy landscape of our country, having a single energy ministry would be beneficial as it would allow for a quicker policy response.

·        Formulating an integrated and wholesome energy policy in the current governance structure is a complex and challenging task not only due to lack of coordination among ministries but also due to the absence of good quality consumption data and an inadvertent promotion of their own fuels over other choices, which may not always be the best option.

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