Government to provide round-the-clock cheap power to all: Power Minister Piyush Goyal

The government aims to provide round-the-clock cheap electricity to everyone across the country, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

"The states have been asked to prepare action plans (that are) specific to their particular states to ensure provision of 24X7 power to all," Goyal said while addressing a conference of Power, Renewable Energy and Mines Ministers of states and union territories.

Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have already prepared their action plans. Other states have also taken it up and all documents are likely to be completed by December 2015, he said. Goyal said a record power generation capacity of 22,566 MW was achieved during 2014-15 as against a target of 17,830 MW. Actual power generation has been 1,049 billion units (BU) against a target of 1,023 BU in 2014-15, registering a growth of 8.5% over 2013-14, he added.

He asked the state governments to evolve a transparent procurement plan by putting in place e-procurement and tendering mechanisms to take advantage of the available power. "There is sufficient power available, so please buy it through proper mechanisms to meet the aspirations of people and the industry," Goyal added.