Topic– Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
6) Draft Electricity Amendment Act, 2018 proposes a slew of measures to bring transparency in power generation market. Discuss.(250 words)
Why this question
The draft electricity amendment act has forwarded a slew of measures aimed at bringing transparency in the power generation market. It is therefore essential to know those provisions.
Directive word
Discuss- This is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. We also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the salient provisions of the draft Electricity Amendment Act and bring out how these provisions aim at bringing transparency in the power generation market.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the draft act- e.g The draft Electricity (Amendment) Act 2018, which is an amendment to the Electricity Act, 2003 aims at being in line with the country’s changing electricity markets and systems, with their large renewable capacities and the emergence of a smart grid network.
Body-
Discuss in points, the salient provisions of the act and discuss how the act aims to provide transparency in the power generation market. E.g licensing requirements extended explicitly to all electricity suppliers except a few exempted categories; Specific caveats for conventional assets, including mandatory spinning reserves (extra generating capacity) for new or expanding thermal power capacities, have been introduced in the proposed amendment. There have also been upward revisions of penalties to better reflect the market in 2018; the amendment allow for more than one distribution licensee to operate in a single area, signaling an end to area monopolies. Open access (OA) has also been structured further in the draft amendment. The proposal deems that every OA power purchase agreement (PPA), be it long-, medium- or short-term, shall be subject to review by the appropriate electricity regulatory commission. Their PPAs cannot be terminated without approval from the said commission and violation of terms can invite penalties up to Rs 1 crore etc.
Conclusion- sum up your discussion and form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
