Why in news?
PM recently launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, also known as Saubhagya scheme.
What are the fundamental problems in Indian power sector?
- The power generation utilities in India remain vastly under-utilised, and investments in the sector is drastically falling.
- The plant load factor (PLF) an indicator of capacity utilisation of power generation units, has dropped consistently over the decade.
- The Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) has failed to make enough of a difference to this state of affairs.
- Demand for electricity from State distribution companies is dropping with their deteriorating financial status.
- Distribution agencies have very little incentive to demand more electricity from power generators, and they cannot make profits.
What are the highlights of Saubhagya scheme?
- Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, or Saubhagya is recently launched scheme.
- It aims to make electricity accessible to every household by the end of 2018.
- Under the scheme poor households who have no access to electricity will be provided electricity connections free of cost.
- The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.
- This scheme hopes to improve electricity access within villages that are already classified as “electrified”, according to the criterion that 10% of households enjoy access to electricity.
- The solar power packs with battery bank for un-electrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas will be provided.
- The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will remain the nodal agency for the operationalization of the scheme throughout the country.
What are the shortcomings?
- The scheme doesn’t address structural issues that plague the broken power sector.
- It does very little to address the real problem of affordability i.e. the recurring burden of power bills.
- It failsto account illegal connections taken by households which find it difficult to afford legal access to power.
Source: The Hindu
