Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020: Proposals brighten outlook for sector

The Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, unveiled last month by the Ministry of Power, has been welcomed by power distribution companies even as they await more clarity on the implementation of some of its provisions. Experts hold that by sidestepping contentious issues and focussing on critical concerns impacting the sector, the government has helped the prospects of the Bill being passed by Parliament soon.

This is important because two draft versions of amendments to the Electricity Act of 2003 floated by the Union power ministry in 2014 and 2018 failed to become law. The amendments have been framed keeping in mind the “few critical issues which have weakened commercial and investment activities in the electricity sector and need to be addressed immediately to ensure sustainable growth of the country”, the government said while unveiling the proposals.