The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) hosted the launch event of the two recently published CSEP studies (Breaking Down the Gap in DisCom Finances: Explaining the Causes of Missing Money, and Getting India’s Electricity Prices “Right”: It’s More Than Just Violations of the 20% Cross-Subsidy Limit) on electricity distribution company (discom) finances, which untangle the root cause of their operational and financial losses. The event was held on Wednesday, June 14 2023, from 5:00 PM to 6:45 PM (IST) at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, 6 Diplomatic Enclave, Dr Jose P Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021.

About the event:

Discoms are the last leg of the electricity chain and are thus critical for both economic development and India’s decarbonisation plans. Most discoms have suffered both operating and financial losses for years, and have necessitated a range of support mechanisms. In a pair of bottom-up studies focusing on all 59 public utilities over 15 years, we identify the root cause of their financial gap. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it is not primarily due to discom failures in operations, like aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses. These analyses, which extend to discom balance sheets and tariff setting processes, lead to a range of recommendations towards discom sustainability.

Chair:

Suman Bery is the Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, in the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister. He has been associated with renowned International and national think tanks, and had a long career at the World Bank as well. He was Chief Economist of Royal Dutch Shell, and also served as Director-General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi. In his decade leading NCAER, he was at various times member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, India’s Statistical Commission, and the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy. His work has contributed to the political economy of reform, financial sector and banking reform, and energy trends and policy.

Special Address:

Alok Kumar is the Secretary at the Ministry of Power. He has held senior positions in the UP government and the government of India. He graduated in Civil Engineering from IIT Roorkee in 1983 and later acquired an MBA in Finance. Before joining as the Union Power Secretary in February, 2021, he was Additional Chief Secretary, Industrial Development and IT & Electronics in the government of Uttar Pradesh. He has acquired widely recognized expertise in policy and regulatory affairs of India’s electricity sector. He has worked for more than seven years in the sector at national level and about three years at State level in Uttar Pradesh. He has been CEO of various public enterprises in transport and electricity sectors. He has also worked in skill development, handicraft based micro-enterprises, apprenticeship programmes and National Career Services. He has authored a book on policy and regulation of the electricity industry in India which was published by Oxford University Press in 2012.

Panellists:

Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a Distinguished Fellow at CSEP and has been a notable figure in Indian economic reforms from the early 1980s onwards. He has previously served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and as the first director of the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF. He has written extensively on various aspects of development economics and is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award for public service.

P K Pujari was most recently the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), serving from 1998-2022, and was previously the Secretary, Ministry of Power. Over his multiple decades of service as an IAS officer, he handled assignments in a range of ministries and departments both in Gujarat as well as in the Central Government, including power, commercial taxes, finance, and industries. In the energy and power domains, he has played a key role in formulating the Tariff Policy, new coal linkage policy for power plants, hydropower policy, policy guidelines for the RE integration, and rural electrification, in addition to a regulatory focus on new multi-year-tariff regulations, regulations on deviation settlement mechanism, cross border trade of electricity etc.

Ann Josey is a Fellow at the Prayas (Energy Group). She works on electricity policy and regulations at the national level and in various states. She is a recognised expert on distribution companies, tariff and subsidy design, electricity markets, rural electrification and various elements of the energy transition. She works closely with central, state governments, regulatory commissions, and civil society organisations towards improving sector governance, regulation, protecting consumer interests, and understanding energy transitions.

Moderator:

Rahul Tongia is a Senior Fellow with CSEP in New Delhi, where his work focuses on technology and policy, especially for sustainable development. He leads Energy and Sustainability studies at CSEP, and is also active in broader issues of technology. Tongia’s work spans the entire gamut of energy and electricity, with focuses on supply options, including renewable energy (covering finance, grid integration, etc.); smart grids; issues of access and quality; and broader issues of reforms and regulations. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and was the founding Technical Advisor for the Government of India’s Smart Grid Task Force. Rahul Tongia is also a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.

Study Presenters:

Rajasekhar Devaguptapu is a Fellow with CSEP. He is a researcher in the areas of electricity distribution, finances of distribution utilities, power markets, power purchase agreements etc.

He has worked extensively in the areas of policy, regulatory design, efficacy and impact assessment of regulatory mechanisms, deviation settlement mechanism, ancillary services etc. Previously, he was Advisor at the Forum of Regulators, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), New Delhi, and Joint Secretary at Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), New Delhi.

Nikhil Tyagi is a Research Associate with CSEP. He has conducted data driven research on different policy and regulatory studies on retail tariff, finances and operations of distribution utilities, and cross-border electricity trade. He also worked with utilities on issues of performance, efficiency, and operations.  He has experience of working with different electricity distribution utilities in India. His research focus spans the power sector, with a focus on distribution companies (discoms), including prices, regulation, planning, and the energy transition.

For general enquiries please contact Nikhil Tyagi at NTyagi@csep.org and for media enquiries, please contact Trishna Wahengbam at TWahengbam@csep.org.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.