Government approves Rs. 980 crore outlay for National Smart Grid Mission.

The government has approved the National Smart Grid Mission with an outlay of Rs 980 crore in the 12th Five-Year Plan, minister of state for coal, power and renewable energy Piyush Goyal told the Lok Sabha recently.

The mission will serve as an institutional mechanism for planning, monitoring and implementing policies and programmes related to the smart grid, the minister said in a statement.

The main activities envisaged under NSGM are development of smart grid and micro grids, consumer engagements, training and capacity building among others.

'NSGM entails implementation of a smart electrical grid based on state-of-the art technology in the fields of automation, communication and IT systems that can monitor and control power flows from points of generation to points of consumption,' the minister said.

Goyal said NSGM will have a three-tier structure with a governing council, headed by the power minister, at the top. The council, which will have secretary-level officers of concerned ministries as members, will approve all policies and programmes for implementing the smart grid.

The second level will have an empowered committee, headed by the power secretary and have joint secretary level officers of concerned ministries as members. The empowered committee's role will be to provide policy inputs to the governing council and approve, monitor and review specific smart grid projects.

The third tier will comprise a technical committee headed by the chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority.

'Grant of up to 30% of the project cost is available from (the) NSGM budget. For selected components such as training & capacity building, consumer engagement etc, 100% grant is available,' the statement said.

The minister said state-level missions on the lines of the national smart grid have also been proposed.

ET