By IANS,
Kolkata : India’s ‘distorted’ power tariff policy is affecting not only the economy but also the environment and it needs to change, a West Bengal official said Friday.
“With minimal or no charges on power used for pumping irrigation water, there is a tendency of overuse which is drastically lowering the level of underground water,” said M.K. De, principal secretary, power department.
“As the users do not have to pay much charge, they overuse electricity. This increase in consumption leads to increase in carbon footprints along with burdening production. Therefore, there is a need for a re-look into tariff policy to check such misuses,” he said.
De also emphasised on the need to develop power storage facilities.
“There is a need for developing storage facilities and devices for conventional as well as renewable energy. Along with emphasis on production, there is much need for research and development work on storage facilities,” he said.
“A lot of energy is lost in transmission as well as because of inadequate storage infrastructure. Therefore, developing improved transmission modes and storage facilities are the need of the hour,” he said.
De was speaking at the ‘Environment and Energy Conclave’, organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.