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Efforts on to improve power situation: Prabhu

Our Bureau

PUNE, July 1

THE Union Minister for Power, Mr Suresh Prabhu, has said that the Centre has taken up certain initiatives to better the power situation in the country. This includes extending the training given to employees at the Central Government-level and to the Sta te Governments besides creating a research and development programme, he said.

He was addressing industry leaders at a function organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Western Region.

The Union Government has created a training policy, which has been implemented at the training institutes at the Centre, which would be extended to include the training institutes at the State level.

``The State electricity boards should take up the initiative and send across the people for training,'' he said. The Centre is also creating a research and development programme for the power sector and that the approach paper would be ready in about fou r months, he added.

To tackle the problem of electricity theft, compulsory metering is also being taken up. To extend the programme to the district level, the Government has given grants to the State Governments, he said.

Mr Prabhu said the Government estimated the losses due to power theft at about Rs 20,000 crore. For this, a comprehensive Bill would be introduced in the next session of Parliament. The Bill would bring out a suggestion that the generators should be allo wed to sell power directly to the end-consumers.