LS considers amendments to Electricity Act

New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) The Lok Sabha today took up for consideration a bill seeking to amend the Electricity Act, 2003, to make power theft a cognisable and non-bailable offence, and provide for constitution of special courts to try such cases.

Introducing a set of official amendments to the act, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the government had introduced a bill to amend the Electricity Act in 2005. The bill was later considered by a Parliamentary Standing Committee.

The proposed amendments were in keeping with the recommendations of the Standing Committee.

Mr Shinde said one of the proposed amendments was to eliminate cross subsidy to make the power sector financially viable. ''Cross subsidy leads to higher tariff.'' He said several new provisions were sought to be incorporated in the bill to ensure that each and every household was provided electricity under the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyut Kiran Yojana in the next five years.

It is also proposed that no licence needs to be taken for selling excess power by the captive power generating plants.

The discussion on the bill would resume on Monday.

UNI