7 months ago
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A connection successful the draught Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, for establishing an ‘Electricity Council’ astatine the nationalist level has sparked statement implicit its implications for States including Kerala.
According to the draft, which has present been circulated among the States for their views, the Centre indispensable found the Council.
Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty has expressed interest that specified a body, which helium likened to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, could instrumentality distant the powers of States successful matters related to electricity. While objecting to the provisions of the draught Bill connected Saturday (October 11, 2025) connected the grounds that they would pave mode for privatisation successful powerfulness distribution, Mr. Krishnankutty had expressed a interest that an Electricity Council would summation the Centre’s controls successful important issues including the determination of powerfulness tariffs.
According to the draught Bill, the projected Council would “advise Central and State governments connected argumentation measures, facilitate statement connected reforms and coordinate the implementation of specified reforms” for achieving the objectives of the Electricity Act. The draught Bill proposes a caller sub-section nether Section 166 (1) of the Electricity Act for the constitution of the Electricity Council. The Union Power Minister volition seat the council. State Power Ministers volition beryllium its members. The Union Power Secretary volition beryllium its Convener.
Section 166 (1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, lone dealt with the constitution of a ‘Coordination Forum’ by the Centre for the “smooth and coordinated improvement of the powerfulness strategy successful the country.” This forum had arsenic its members of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Central Electricity Authority, and representatives of powerfulness generating companies and transmission licensees.
In caller years, Kerala has vehemently opposed proposals for amending the Electricity Act connected the grounds that they are against the larger interests of the communal people. Unanimously passing a solution against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, successful August 2021, the Kerala Assembly had observed that electricity is simply a concurrent taxable astatine Entry 38 successful List III of the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule.
Mr. Krishnankutty had said connected Saturday that the State authorities would analyse the draught intimately and convey its opinions to the Centre. He had, however, reiterated the government’s declared basal that Kerala would proceed to support powerfulness organisation successful the nationalist sector.
