New Delhi

Retail supply model impresses Walia

NEW DELHI: Delhi Power Minister A.K. Walia on Tuesday shared with mediapersons his experiences during a visit to the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway where he had gone along with Deputy Secretary (Power) Harish K. Ahuja and Delhi Transco General Manager A.K. Kaul to evaluate the retail supply business model in deregulated power markets.

Dr. Walia said the purpose of his visit was to enhance understanding of retail supply business in a deregulated power market and to transfer Nordic power market experiences to his delegation. He hoped that this would contribute towards successful introduction of retail supply competition within Delhi to enable the retail consumers to take advantage of competitive forces which otherwise exhibit typical characteristics of a monopoly.

The Minister said such a model would also allow retail consumers to choose their own supplier instead of depending only upon their local distribution company.

He said the Delhi Government would also explore possibilities of joining the INPIC-II project which has been initiated by the Union Power Minister in cooperation with the Royal Embassy of Norway for introduction of retail competition in India.

Dr. Walia’s visit to the Nordic countries – where apart from a Minister and officials he also met renewable energy and power conservation experts – also assumes significance as he had a first-hand feel of the power and financial markets there. Since it is after 20 years of efforts that these countries have reached the present level of retail supply competition, the visit also sought to put into perspective Delhi’s efforts in the direction as the Capital city had introduced the power reforms process six years ago in 2002.

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