The Centre on Tuesday said it would soon seek Cabinet approval for introducing the Electricity Bill in Parliament.
Speaking at a seminar here, Power Secretary R V Shahi said his ministry had circulated a Cabinet note on the proposed legislation, which seeks to reform the sector and do away with the current restrictions on power generators.
Shahi said the Bill was expected to be reintroduced during the Budget session of Parliament after the Cabinet approved it. The Bill had been introduced in Parliament in 2001.
On the issue of enhanced funding for reform-linked measures being adopted by state governments, Shahi said the power ministry had sought additional funds under the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) for 2003-04, as against an outlay of Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion).
Shahi said the state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation had been asked to set up pump storage stations with an estimated capacity of 800-1,000 Mw to overcome peak demand shortages.
He said the government was trying to reverse the mismatch between thermal and hydroelectric power generation capacity, which was heavily skewed in favour of thermal energy, to check the escalation of tariffs.Run-up to the Budget 2003
