Energetica India 89 - May 2020

supply, global electrification should be a top priority for government once the world returns to normalcy. Strengthening the Power Distribution Sector Building a robust electricity delivery sys - tem requires close interplay of different stakeholders and entities. One of the key reasons for unreliable and low-quality electricity supply is the financial stress that distribution companies (DISCOMS) are facing today. Mounting losses, low tariff mandated by the governments, weak infrastructure and billing inefficien - cies hamper the profitable operations of DISCOMs. Despite the challenges, In - dia’s DISCOMs have taken many steps to address these concerns and provide for quality services to their customers. However, many challenges remain un - attended to. Lack of trained staff has inhibited DISCOMs from implementing regular metering and billing process - es, inefficient metering and billing of - ten leads to inaccurate billing or even failure to bill at all, and this results in lower collections and added losses to the DISCOMs. To counter such losses, DISCOMs often curtail investments that would expand the supply network in ru - ral areas and resort to power cuts. This needs to be addressed. We can need to keep the customer at the center of the efforts and work towards improving cus - tomer satisfaction levels with affordable and reliable electricity access. DISCOMs’ current focus should be on strengthening distribution networks, en - hancing the ease of getting an electric - ity connection, increasing metering and regularizing billing and collection sched - ules, bringing in more transparency in its finances, setting accountability at all lev - els, improving complaint management system and overall customer service. This will serve not only the customers’ needs but also that of the DISCOMs’. Models for rural electricity service and delivery should be sustainable, scalable, and market-based and should engage private sector companies based on prin - ciples of true partnership – shared risks and gains to achieve a triple-win out - come: a win for the DISCOM, a win for the franchisee, and a win for the custom - ers. The International Energy Agency estimates that India’s electricity demand will triple by 2040, indicating a steady rise in its per capita electricity consump - tion. The Economic Survey 2018-19 observed that India should increase its per capita energy consumption by 2.5 times to accelerate its per capita GDP to $5000. Access to reliable and affordable electricity, particularly for millions of rural households will be crucial in unlocking India’s economic potential, catapulting it into the upper-middle income group and building economic and social resilience to deal with unforeseen crisis. POWER SECTOR 51 energetica INDIA- May_2020