There is no power politics, customer is king, Piyush Goyal says
Sanjay Dutta, TNN | Jun 26, 2014, 12.28AM IST
The responsibility of lighting up the country today rests onPiyush Goyal's shoulders. Just a month into his new job, the minister for power, coal and renewable energy has set an electric pace to energize the sector. He shares his vision withTOI in a freewheeling interview with Sanjay Dutta.
When can we expect 24X7 power supply or blackouts in hinterland to get shorter?
Clearly, customer is the king. And that has been my first message to the departments under me. My effort is that we become a far more responsive government both to the needs and problems of the customer. When I say customer, the last man on the street is the final customer. But then within the system the power generator is the customer of the coal ministry or the coal supplier. The distributor is the customer of the power producer and then likewise in the entire chain.
I am trying to get that responsiveness into the system that the coal people give the best service which means quality price, timely delivery to the generator. Generator ensures timely supplies which will also include transmission and distribution, being adequately provided so the generator can satisfy his customer which is the distribution company.
The distribution company focuses to reduce power theft, to make sure 100% metering is done, he gets conscious of the fact that he has to ensure 24X7 power to each consumer and ultimately the consumer has to be educated that he has to pay for that power. He has to pay for that uninterrupted power for making it uninterrupted there will be certain redundancies built into the system. Also he will have to ensure that the theft that happens in the neighbourhood is stopped by a joint effort. After all, policing alone cannot stop every problem. It's the people's movement that resolves more problems than policing.
And finally, we will all in this value have to be conscious that the things are done transparently so that corruption costs are not loaded on to the final consumer and the final consumer gets quality at the right price. We cannot have a system that everything can be passed on to the final consumer in the garb of cost being recovered without being sensitive to their own problems and affordability.
The PM has spoken about the need for hard decisions, given the tight economic situation. As the doctor in charge of power, coal and renewable energy ministries, what are the bitter pills you will administer?
I think one of the urgent issues to address is increasing the domestic coal production so that the capacity that is available in India is put to full use. One way to recover the cost can be that you pass it on to the consumer. But I would rather focus my energies to reduce the cost by improving efficiency, improving productivity, by ensuring that every plant runs to full capacity, by ensuring that adequate coal is mined in the country so that we don't pay for expensive imported coal. I have to bring in efficiencies in terms of linkages.
You will be amazed that the country has a situation where departments work in silos, so we have coal which is imported into Gujarat for a power plant in Korba, run by NTPC. And Coal India has given linkage to a power plant of the Gujarat government from Korba. The train may be crossing the line at the same time, going up and down. Rejigging this could save Rs 400-500 crore and the benefit will pass on to the consumer. It will also unclog the over burdened railway network. Help me push out more coal from the mines to its final destination. I have initiated a study at the pan-India level, my gut feeling says that thousands of crore can be saved, millions of tonnes can be additionally transported through the system, and pollution can come down.
Ramifications of small decisions can be pretty large. There have been complaints that you get a lot of boulders in coal. I am trying to see what I can do; planning to get crushers (it's not an expensive proposition). I have given a timeline that by December 31, 2014 I am hoping that the Coal India board takes quick decisions and action so that every piece of coal that goes out of the Coal India mine will be to international standards.
Similarly, coal washing is an environmental friendly step, which for years has been quite neglected. I have passed orders that by June 2015- June 2016, which are the deadlines set by the environment ministry for a certain level of washing to be done, it will be strictly implemented and won't seek any further extension to that. It will entail some investment and washeries, but I think there can be no better service to the nation than ensuring that we are not transporting ash over long distances.
Coal India has no dearth of money ... Its sitting on a pile of Rs 60,000 crore?
It's not only about having cash in the books, it's also about improving our own efficiency. I would rather put that cash to good use to open new mines, expand the mining capacity. Again, something that needs people's participation. I, on my side, can assure that whoever may get displaced whenever a new mine is opened, or a forest might have some mining activity, since mining activities are in forests, I can give categorical assurance that they will be well looked after, the R&R (relief and rehabilitation) will be better than the law provides. I can assure that I will use every effort to recreate afforestation to expand the forest cover.
But we will need people's support to open new mines, to mine larger quantities. Today, we have certain decisions in certain states which are holding back mining production. A particular state says that you cannot move trucks from one time to the other. And if I cannot move trucks for 14 hours in a day then the mine's production is down to 40%. So, it ultimately affects power generation and then the consumer. I will need a lot of support from all the stakeholders the states, consumers, environmentalists, everybody. I want to reach out to everyone for support.
What happens to tariffs? Utilities are doddering in the absence of timely tariff revision.
There are two things in this. One is what I found in a state like Rajasthan when I visited it, I suspect that the enthusiasm I see from Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, I am hopeful that these states really move fast and have come into the 24X7 category. But what I did see in Rajasthan, the state utilities increased the loss by over Rs 50,000 crore in last five years. So, it's a government which is completely agnostic to running projects efficiently and allows indiscriminate power thefts, don't bother about proper distribution network, meters are getting spoilt and are never replaced.
Their revenue was only Rs 10,000 crore against an expenditure of Rs 23,000 crore last year. There's no concern for what amount is generated, or purchased, what is built, what is collected. We will have to set these things right only after consultation with the states.
Centrally, I cannot interfere in states, it's a concurrent subject and in the federal polity, states are very sensitive to any 'diktats'. I will be using a lot of persuasion to reach out to different states. For me it's not about politics, I want to reach out to all states uniformly. We want 24X7 power for every citizen of India as Modi says elections are over and electioneering is over. Now it's time to perform for 125 crore citizens.
We are going to reach out to the states and help them tide over these problems and incentivise good performance by states. I must tell you Gujarat, which has turned from a Rs 2,500 crore loss-making utility into a Rs 500 crore profit making utility under Modi over the last 10-12 years and giving 24X7 power to everybody, has had the lowest increase in tariffs compared to any other state in the country.
I don't think it's only about tariff. They have separated their agricultural feeder, they have metered every home, and they have filed FIR's and prosecuted (people) power thefts, their collection efficiencies are among the finest. They are able to ensure that people get the power when they want at their homes, industries, commercial gets 24X7 power; agriculture gets adequate power as per their needs. It's a case study worth doing.
That's what when I first visited Gujarat, I said let me learn what needs to be learnt so set other things right. It was a very educative experience. I felt very good being at Sabarmati ashram , I saw the river front and what work the govt has done there and it inspired me both , to look at it as an opportunity to give back to the society, to give back to the nation and also to see how things can be done. I mean if Mahatama Gandhi can get his freedom by spinning a charkha or Modi could clean up the water front which otherwise could have been such a sensitive subject in a communally-charged city like Ahmedabad, in a densely populated area, I think lot of things can be done, it needs little bit of leadership, sincerity of purpose and transparency and honesty. If I tell you transparently what my issues are like when the Delhi crisis came , I shared with the people what exactly my situation is and after that I found everybody cooperating very well.