Need to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2070, says Union Minister Manohar Lal

Chennai: Union Minister Manohar Lal on Saturday called for steps to reduce carbon emissions to meet the commitment of achieving net zero target by 2070.

At present, the focus is on solar and wind energy and all the states were moving in this direction, the Power and Housing & Urban Affairs Minister, said.

"We have to reduce the carbon emissions to reach the net zero by 2070," Manohar Lal told reporters after chairing a review meeting with the officials of Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration, TWAD, TUFIDCO, and power sector CPSEs, here.

"Today, I was on a tour of two states - Puducherry and Tamil Nadu... We have requested that renewable energy plants be set up in all the states," the Minister said.

During the review, certain demands like strengthening transmission line under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the prepaid system in smart metering be done in phases, were raised. "Given these demands, if we have to make some changes in the policy, we will do it," Manohar Lal said.

The Union Minister reviewed the power sector scenario of Tamil Nadu along with state Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, and other officials.

In his address, Manohar Lal said his visit to the state was important in understanding and in resolving the issues in the power sector in the state and emphasised the need to increase the share of renewable sources of power generation.

He commended the state for the efforts in improving the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses. He highlighted the need for clearing outstanding Government department dues and timely settlement of bills through established mechanism at state level.

The Minister called for reforms to improve the financial performance of the state including ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply-Average Revenue Realised) Gap.

Highlighting the role that RDSS would play in improving the electricity distribution sector, he advised the state government to make all efforts for expeditious implementation of the sanctioned works under RDSS. The state should explore ways to reduce outstanding debt and losses, a release quoting the Minister said.

Sincere efforts would go a long way in making the state DISCOM financially viable and the state power sector self-sufficient, he said and assured continued support and cooperation from the Centre in the overall development of the state.

Balaji assured to take necessary measures to expeditiously implement the works sanctioned for Tamil Nadu under the RDSS and improve the financial performance of the state.

The 1x800 MW North Chennai Thermal Power Project stage III, currently underway in North Chennai, the first state of 2x660 MW Udangudi supercritical coal-based power project, and the 2x660 MW Ennore Supercritical coal-based power (Vayalur) project were discussed in detail.

The meeting also deliberated on the various works under the Improved Power Distribution Scheme being carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 8,932 crore to reduce power loss, a release from the state government said. The Ministers urged the central and state officials to expedite the projects.