Union Power Minister Shri Manohar Lal reviewed Karnataka's power sector on May 23, 2025, urging financial reforms, faster smart meter rollout, and timely dues clearance. The meeting, attended by Union and State ministers and officials, addressed power generation, transmission challenges (Right of Way), and distribution infrastructure needs. Minister Lal commended Karnataka's renewable energy progress but stressed the need to reduce financial losses in power utilities, implement cost-reflective tariffs, and saturate government establishments with prepaid smart meters by August 2025. He also directed the state to expedite smart metering for commercial and industrial consumers and resolve transmission infrastructure RoW issues. The Union government pledged continued support for Karnataka's power sector development.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Power: A government ministry, likely the Indian Ministry of Power, responsible for energy policy.
Shri Manohar Lal: Union Minister of Power. Reviewed Karnataka's power sector.
Karnataka: A state in India, focus of the power sector review.
PIB Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Delhi. Source of the news release.
Shri Shripad Naik: Union Minister of State for Power and New Renewable Energy.
New Renewable Energy: Related to renewable energy sources. Scope overlaps with the Ministry of Power.
Shri K. J. George: Minister of Energy, Karnataka.
Government of India: The central government of India.
State Government: The government of Karnataka.
REC Ltd: An organization involved in the meeting related to Karnataka's power sector.
Bengaluru: The capital of Karnataka, location of the review meeting.
Right of Way RoW: Refers to land access rights needed for transmission infrastructure.
August 2025: Deadline for saturating prepaid smart meters across all Government establishments.
Government departments: Departments of the State Government of Karnataka.
Government establishments: Government-owned or operated facilities.
Ministry of Power
Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal Reviews
Karnataka’s Power Sector, Urges Financial Reforms
and Faster Smart Meter Rollout
Shri Manohar Lal Calls for Timely Dues Clearance
and Resolution of Transmission Bottlenecks in
Karnataka
Posted On: 23 MAY 2025 2:59PM by PIB Delhi
Hon’ble Union Minister of Power, Shri Manohar Lal, conducted a comprehensive review of the power sector
in the State of Karnataka today in Bengaluru. The review meeting was attended by Shri Shripad Naik,
Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy; Shri K. J. George, Hon’ble
Minister of Energy, Karnataka; and senior officials from the Government of India, the State Government, and
REC Ltd.
During the meeting, the State Government made a detailed presentation on the current status of power
generation, transmission, and distribution in Karnataka. Issues such as the generation mix, challenges in Right
of Way (RoW) for transmission infrastructure, and the need for support in improving distribution
infrastructure were discussed.
Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Manohar Lal congratulated the State for its increasing share of renewable energy
in the power mix. He emphasized that the visit aimed at better understanding of the ground-level issues and
exploring new initiatives to strengthen power supply in the State.The Hon’ble Minister urged the State to take steps to reduce annual financial losses of its power utilities and
work towards implementing cost-reflective tariffs. He underlined the importance of timely clearance of dues
and subsidies related to Government departments and advised the State to saturate prepaid smart meters across
all Government establishments, including local bodies and colonies, by August 2025. He also emphasized the
need for a centralized payment mechanism for efficient management of Government electricity dues.
Shri Manohar Lal further directed the State to expedite the rollout of smart metering for commercial,
industrial, and other consumer categories in a time-bound manner. He advised early resolution of RoW issues
impeding transmission infrastructure and called for the adoption of the compensation mechanism issued by
the Government of India.
The Union Minister assured continued support from the Government of India for strengthening the power
sector in Karnataka and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to the welfare and development of the State and
its people.
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SK
(Release ID: 2130719)