Under Section 3 (3) of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Central Government may, from time to time, in consultation with the State Governments and the Central Electricity Authority, review or revise, the National Electricity Policy. In compliance of section 3 of the Electricity Act 2003, the Government of India had notified the National Electricity Policy on 12th February 2005.
2. According to Section 66 of the Electricity Act “the Appropriate Commission shall endeavor to promote the development of a market (including trading) in power in such manner as may be specified and shall be guided by the National Electricity Policy”.
3. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), in the discharge of their functions, shall be guided by the National Electricity Policy under Section 79 and Section 86 of the Electricity Act, respectively.
4. In this regard, it is informed that the Ministry of Power vide Order dated 12.04.2021 has constituted an Expert Committee under the chairmanship of Shri Gireesh Pradhan, Ex-Chairperson, CERC to prepare and recommend National Electricity Policy (NEP), 2021 (copy enclosed). The Expert Committee is required to submit its suggested draft NEP 2021 within two months.
5. The National Electricity Policy, 2021 needs to play an important role in deciding the future of the power sector with renewed reform measures for the economic growth of the country. The main focus is expected to be on decarbonization, power market development, distributed generation in view of rooftop solar and other reliable new technology, etc. The policy may be consumer centric i.e., giving choice to consumers, better services, reliable and quality power, etc. Security of supply, cybersecurity, resilience in the power sector in view of the disasters management, securing supply to all consumers but in particular, all the essential loads in the event of any crisis, etc. are others areas of importance.
6. The suggestions of the various stakeholders including State Governments, Financial Institutions, Industries, consumers, etc. are very important for the future of the power sector. It is requested to submit your brief suggestions along with the suggested specific formulations, which you feel that need to be incorporated in the NEP 2021, in around 1000 words on the MyGov portal.
Click Here to read the draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2021.
The last date for submission is 15th May 2021.
