Electricity Bill Aimed At Strengthening Power Distribution Sector: Govt

The government on Thursday released a document on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, stating the move will strengthen the power distribution sector through financial discipline, healthy competition, and enhanced efficiency.

The bill preserves the federal balance, promotes cooperative governance, and strengthens the framework for addressing the challenges of the power sector, an FAQ on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, said.

The government has released the document amid the controversy surrounding the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

The All India Power Engineers Federation has opposed it, arguing that the bill proposes multiple distribution licensees to use the existing network of government dioscoms.

"The bill seems to support privatisation motives. The central government continues to press ahead with its privatisation agenda through the Electricity (Amendment) Rules," AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey said.

However, the government, in its FAQ on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, said it encourages healthy competition between the government and private discoms in electricity supply under the supervision of SERCs.

This will mean better service, greater efficiency and real choice for consumers.

It will also help government and private utilities compete on performance, turning monopoly supply into efficient, accountable, and consumer-friendly service.

The government said the shared network usage will eliminate the duplication of distribution lines and substations. Under the monopoly electricity supply model, technical and commercial losses are high and often merged under one head, masking inefficiencies and theft.

The cross-subsidy elimination for manufacturing industries, Railways, and Metros will improve competitiveness and help in job creation.

It said that under the proposed Bill, SERCs will fix cost-reflective wheeling charges. All distribution network users, public or private, will pay these regulated charges.