Union Energy Minister to launch Aditya scheme in Panipat for enhanced energy efficiency

Chandigarh, July 14 (IANS) Union Energy Minister Manohar Lal is set to greenlight the Atal Distribution System Improvement Yojana (Aditya) scheme of the Electricity Department in Haryana’s Panipat on July 15.

The one-of-a-kind Aditya scheme is being seen as a transformative step to plug leakages in energy distribution and enhance energy efficiency, particularly related to the power-guzzling sectors like heavy industries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

After a successful rollout, it is expected to save a large amount of energy leakages and benefit those industrial units, whose electricity consumption has been high for the last several years.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Dr Pankaj Yadav told newsmen that the Union Energy Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will launch the Aditya scheme from Panipat tomorrow, to enhance energy output in industrial sectors.

“In the industrial units of MSMEs, where machinery has been running for many years, there is a lot of wastage of electricity. Aditya Scheme will be beneficial as it will reduce the consumption of electricity,” he said.

He said that the scheme will be launched pan-India, from Panipat, on July 15.

He said that the event will see the gathering of Cabinet Ministers, including Anil Vij, Krishnalal Pawar, Mahipal Dhanda and top government officials.

Many noted industrialists associated with MSME have also been extended an invitation, and given the direct impact on their businesses, the event is expected to see their bigger participation.

Notably, the Atal Distribution System Improvement Yojana (ADITYA) scheme is a continuation of the erstwhile UDAY scheme, aimed at distribution reform in the power sector.

This scheme will provide central funding as an infrastructure support reform package to state utilities, and state utilities will be able to participate in the scheme by targeting mandatory reduction of electricity losses to less than 12 per cent, negating tariff gaps and having compulsory prepaid smart metering across the power distribution chain.

States with more than 18 per cent AT&C losses can opt for an infrastructure support reform package that entails choosing an option between running discoms in the public-private-partnership (PPP) model.

--IANS

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