Gandhinagar : Gujarat State Energy Minister Shri Kanu Desai said that under the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and the successful Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership and consistent radical steps to strengthen and reform the power sector, Gujarat has been established as one of the best power distribution systems at the national level. State Government Power Distribution Companies have maintained the tradition of attaining “A +” rating by achieving historic achievement.
Energy Minister Shri Kanu Desai said that under the guidance of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel the benefits of public welfare are being provided to the citizens promptly by undertaking various innovative measures under which the power facilities have also been gradually increased. As a result of the visionary planning and effective performance of the state government and the energy department, the energy sector of the state occupies a leading position in the country. Energy Minister Shri Kanu Desai has congratulated all the power sector employees for maintaining the tradition of achieving “A +” rating every year. It has been possible because of the dedication and commitment of the employees of the four state owned power distribution companies of the state.
Energy sector was facing critical time. Global situation of the supply of coal and gas had led to the situation of electricity shortage and power cut has arisen in other states of the country said Shri Kanu Desai. Gujarat was able to successfully fight the problem of power shortage due to adequate supply of coal and sufficient quantity of railway racks made available due to Minister of Energy Shri Kanu Desai’s immediate attention to this difficult problem, under guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and with the cooperation of the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, a successful and amicable solution was brought to the problem through fruitful consultation with the Union Minister of Energy, Railway Minister and Coal Minister.
Minister Shri Kanu Desai added that till now only state-owned power companies of the entire country were included but from this year private sector power distribution companies have also been included and even in this, Gujarat state power companies achieved great success and maintained “A +” rating.
During the high-level meeting held with the heads of the energy departments of each state regarding the review, planning and monitoring of the energy sector at New Delhi on August 5, 2022, the Minister of Energy and New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India Shri R. K. Singh declared the 10th Annual Integrated Rating. In this, four power companies owned by the Gujarat government – Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited, Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited, Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited and Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited have secured “A +” rank.
Shri Mukesh Patel, Minister of State for Energy, giving more details about this, said that this type of evaluation report of the state and private power distribution companies across the country has been prepared by the Ministry of Energy of the Central Government in collaboration with Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and McKinsey & Company. In this, 46 state utilities, 14 private utilities and energy department’s 11 so a total 71 state utilities participated from across the country. In this type of evaluation, the parameters on which the rating is determined include financial sustainability, overall profitability, cash position, performance excellence such as, billing efficiency, collection efficiency, distribution loss, corporate governance, external environment, loss by takeover by state government, tariff cycle timeline, cost efficiency, regulatory and power reforms etc. In which all the four power distribution companies owned by the state government performed best across the country, out of total 71 companies DGVCL & MGVCL ranked first and second and UGVCL ranked fourth while PGVCL ranked eighth and achieved “A +” rank.
Informing about the purpose of integrated rating, the Minister of Power Shri Kanu Desai said that this integrated rating was started by the Union Ministry of Power at the State Power Ministers Conference organized in 2012 as a framework so that the power companies can be realistically evaluated and the power companies can know their strengths and weaknesses. Based on the necessary planning and taking appropriate measures, it is intended that those power companies can achieve more progress in the future.
All four power distribution companies of the state have made the state’s power sector proud by securing a place in the top ten. Energy Minister Shri Kanu Desai expressed his firm belief that the energy sector of the state shall continue to maintain its leading position in the country.
