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Goyal forms panel for integrated plan for Power and Coal Sectors

Power minister Piyush Goyal has set up an advisory panel to help evolve a comprehensive policy framework for ensuring integrated development of power, coal and renewable energy sectors.

The committee will be headed by Suresh Prabhu who steered electricity reforms as power minister during the previous NDA regime, and will include experts such as Partho Bhattacharya ( former CIL chairman), RV Shahi ( former power secretary), Anil Khandelwal ( former chairman, Bank of Baroda), Vallabh Bhanshali ( merchant banker), Pratyush Sinha ( former CVC), KK Nohria ( former chairman, Crompton Greaves) and Anil Baijal ( former home secretary)

The panel will suggest ways to enhance fuel supplies for power plants and recommend measures to develop requisite transmission and distribution ( T&D) infrastructure critical for 24X7 power supply.

Goyal has made it clear that fixing coal sector and strengthening transmission and distribution sector are top priorities for him. Goyal has also said that he will work with states to expedite power distribution reforms, which will be critical to improving financial health of power distribution companies.

Previous UPA government had targeted to achieve a less ambitious goal of “Power for All” by 2012 but failed to achieve that as its capacity addition programme hit roadblocks like fuel shortages and poor financial health of the power distribution sector.

Source-On Request