Maharashtra to start power distribution scheme for farmers : The state government approved a scheme to launch High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS) to provide electricity to over two lakh farmers.
Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the scheme will cater to around 2.24 lakh farmers, who had applied for new connections, but were still to get electricity almost three years later.
The scheme, approved by the state Cabinet, is estimated to cost Rs 5,048 crore. Bawankule said that currently, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited spends around Rs 1.5 lakh per new connection and under HVDS scheme, the cost will be around Rs 2 lakh per new connection. “The HVDS is expected to reduce long-term losses,” he added.
In the last three years, farmers in Maharashtra were given four lakh agriculture pumps connections, the minister said. The cost of each connection is Rs 1.5 lakh, he added. In the HVDS scheme, the expenditure per agriculture pump is expected to be around Rs 2 lakh, he said.
Stating that Maharashtra is self-sufficient in electricity, the minister said, “We have achieved the demand of 23,100 megawatts (MW) and are able to provide uninterrupted power supply. There is no load-shedding for industrial, residential and commercial consumers. For agriculture purpose, eight hours electricity is provided (daily). There are around 700 feeders where villages and farms have a common electricity connection and we are undertaking a scheme to separate them,”.
Under HVDS, only two farmers will have to share a transformer, as opposed to the current situation where 10 to 15 farmers share one transformer. “The new system will not only reduce the load on transformers but also provide high voltage electricity to farmers… HVDS will eliminate transformer failures and ensure continuous supply,” said Bawankule.
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