Power and New & renewable Energy Minister R K Singh has asked the Chief Ministers of all States and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories to set up State Level Steering Committees for Energy Transition.
These Steering Committees will work under the chairmanship of Chief Secretaries of the respective States and Union Territories. The Principal Secretaries of Power and New and Renewable Energy Departments, Transport, Industries, Housing and Urban Affairs, Agriculture, Rural Development and Public Works Departments, etc. will act as members of these Committees, Power Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Annual strategy
The States and Union Territories will work on the annual strategy of energy transition under the mandate of the committee, it added.
Emphasising that energy transition is the only means of reducing carbon emissions and fulfilling India’s commitments made at international forums, Singh said that Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand have already constituted such committees.
He highlighted that for energy transition, States and Union Territories have to work together on multiple tracks. The first track is addition of Renewables (renewable energy) to the electricity generation mix to meet the nation’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.
Energy efficiency
The second track would be promotion of energy efficiency, while the third one would be to increase use of biomass and green hydrogen, he added.
“The Minister urged the States to make efforts for zero diesel in agriculture by 2024 by limiting the consumption of diesel in the agriculture sector. In this regard, financial assistance through RDSS (Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme) may be availed for adopting solar energy for separate agricultural feeders and agricultural feeders under the PM-KUSUM scheme,” the Ministry said.
Singh stressed that the role of State Governments is significant for the successful implementation of the reduction in emission intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 as compared to the 2005 level.