Power ministers to meet on electrifying all households by 2018

New Delhi Nov 6 (IANS) Central and state Power Ministers are slated to brainstorm over how to realise the Saubhagya scheme target of reaching electricity to all households by the end of 2018 at a two-day meeting in Bihar beginning on Friday an official statement said here.

The conference of Power and New and Renewable Energy Ministers of states and union territories to be held in Bihar s Rajgir November 10-11 will be inaugurated by Union Power Minister R.K Singh the ministry said in a statement.

The Saubhagya or the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana aims to achieve 100 per cent electrification of households by end-2018 and was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September.

"The aim of this two-day conference is to review the implementation of various ongoing schemes/programmes and deliberate on a host of issues pertaining to power and renewable energy sectors " said the Power Ministry statement.

The other areas to be covered at the meeting include promoting pre-paid meters separation of power feeders in rural electrification digital payment of bills and strategies to provide 24X7 power for all it added.

Issues related to reforms in the power and renewable energy sectors would be taken up at the meeting.

Other areas to be covered include how to mandate charges for cross-subsidy and inter-state transmission honouring of power purchase agreements and management of ash at thermal power plants the statement said.

The ministers will also deliberate on the issues related to hydro power wind energy districts affected by left-wing extremists rooftop solar systems and the biomass programme it added.

--IANS
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