Power Ministry to ease 22 compliance-related issues in 1st phase of Ease of Doing Business action plan

The Central government has undertaken a series of reforms to ease the compliance burden on citizens and businesses.

The Ministry of Power has prepared an action plan for 2022 which is aimed at easing the compliance-related issues for industry and consumers in two phases, the first of which will address 22 “burdensome compliances” norms, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

In January 2021, the government, through the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), launched a regulatory compliance portal that would act as a bridge between citizens, industries, and the government to reduce the burden of regulatory compliance on them. Since 2021, the Ministry of Power has eased compliance norms related to seventy-nine items that were affecting industry and consumers.

The ministry has started a fresh exercise for 2022, which will entail a first phase that will continue till March 31, and a second phase that will continue till August 15. Minister RK Singh recently reviewed the action plans of 2022 for the power ministry and its sub-nodal organisation - Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Central Transmission Utility (CTU), Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO), Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

The statement from the ministry quotes Singh as saying that the exercise for reducing the regulatory compliance burden of the consumers and industries should be conducted at the state level as well and uploaded on the regulatory compliance portal for the benefit of all customers and stakeholders.

The Central government has undertaken a series of reforms to ease the compliance burden on citizens and businesses. The exercise focuses on reducing compliances related to licenses, certificates, permissions, renewals, inspections, returns filings, records, decriminalisation, and involves assessment of regulations including repeal of redundant laws.

The Ministry of Power said in the statement on Friday that it has undertaken some significant initiatives thus far like easing the connectivity bank guarantee for renewable energy projects that led to unlocking of about Rs 400 crore for the developers in the sector. Various other regulations made by the CEA and CERC have been repealed or amended to reduce regulation and simplify processes.