Is the notion of ESG going too far?
The Ministry of Power, Government of India, recently issued Draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2021 for public comments. The amendment seeks to stipulate the following three rules to the existing rules: “1. “In view of the increasing pollution level particularly in the metros and the large cities, Distribution Licensee shall ensure 24x7 uninterrupted power supply to all the consumers, so that there is no requirement of running the Diesel Generating sets. 2. Consumers, who are using the Diesel Generating sets as essential back up power, shall endeavor to shift to cleaner technology such as RE with battery storage etc in five years from the date of the publication of this amendment or as per the timelines given by the State Commission for such replacement based on the reliability of supply by the distribution company in that city. 3. The process of giving temporary connections to the consumers for cons...