Rs 3 lakh crore recharge for discoms, funding jab for renewables with a pinch of duty

NEW DELHI: The Budget 2021-22 promised a Rs 3 lakh crore recharge plan for the power sector, a jab of funding for renewable energy projects and a pinch of import duty on solar inverters and lanterns to promote domestic manufacturing in solar industry.
The recharge will go towards funding a kaleidoscope of ongoing and proposed programmes aimed at making consumer the king, improving quality of service through competition and restoring the financial health of state distribution companies.
Separation of carrier and content, which will allow consumers a choice of suppliers just like in mobile telephony, is at the heart of the reforms-linked, result-based recharge plan for the distribution sector. The separation is aimed at ending monopolies and ushering in competition to improve operational and financial efficiency.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids MD N Venu said competition in distribution will ensure the assistance scheme doesn’t become a redux of Uday 2.0, the new avatar of the original rescue plan for discoms launched in 2015.