A leading power producer said Friday that the consumer must be put at the centre of the power sector and a fine imposed on producers who fail to achieve targets.
Firoze Vandrevala, managing director of Tata Power, said advanced countries have devised indicators to gauge if the customer was receiving proper power supply, and it was necessary to introduce such measures in India too.
"In the power sector we have taken care of all aspects except the consumer. He comes last and he is taken for granted. This situation must change," he told the inaugural session of a two-day meet organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
"Advanced economies have devised indicators like 'customer average interruption duration index' (CAIDI) and 'customer average interruption frequency index' (CAIFI) to gauge if the customer receives dependable power supply.
"I have made a representation before the Central Electricity Authority to institutionalise such service parameters in India, and impose a fine for producers failing to achieve targets," he said.
Vandrevala said privatisation alone was not the answer to all the ills plaguing the energy sector in India, but the regulatory framework too needed to be improved.
He said while reforms focused on power generation, the need of the hour was also to reform the power distribution system.
--Indo-Asian News Service