Users to soon get choice of selecting power discom: Goyal

Consumers will soon be able to choose their power supply company as the government is making necessary amendments to the Electricity Act to enable this provision which is aimed at encouraging greater competition in the distribution sector.
Shifting focus from generation, the government plans to fix electricity distribution which is often described as the achilles heel of the power sector.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal today said the provision allowing the end-user to choose its distribution company is in the works.
"What we are looking at is allowing competition at last mile delivery so that consumers have a choice of supplier of electricity... It will also help states serve the people better," the Minister told reporters here at a CII event.

Goyal assured that wherever there are existing power purchase agreements, the interests of stakeholders will be protected, which will be done in consultation with the power regulator.
The Minister said the government will allow competition at the last mile or to the end-consumer without raising tariff or compromising on better customer service.

On being asked about allowing end users of electricity to select their power distribution firm, Goyal said it will be done gradually, adding that it was tried in Maharashtra but did not deliver the desired results due to some legal issues.
There were some hurdles under the Electricity Act of 2003, he said when asked why the proposed model did not work in that state. "We are trying to resolve those hurdles under the current amendment to the Electricity Act," he added.

Goyal further said that the government started the exercise of making amendments to the existing Electricity Act some time back and in the process has consulted several stakeholder from whom it has received numerous suggestions for consideration.