The Hindu Business Line : IEA suggests merger of energy ministries

THE International Energy Agency (IEA) has recommended that the Union Government merge the four existing energy ministries into a single one. Currently, the Petroleum, Coal, Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources Ministries cater to the energy sector.

In its recent report on the energy sector, `Electricity in India', the IEA has said, "Integration of political accountability into a single energy ministry is essential. Only an integrated authority can exploit economies of scale through co-operation and integration at the Union level."

The IEA has recommended that the Centre set and adhere to a firm timetable for introducing market mechanisms. "An implementation timetable should provide for establishing the regulatory framework, reforming subsidies, curbing power theft and developing innovative solutions for private sector distribution."

On the distribution front, significantly, the IEA has recommended that corporatised public distributors should be privatised only after the revenue collections improve.

On the transmission front, the IEA has criticised the Government for not explicitly using cost as an optimisation criteria. "...But unlike the existing plans which do not refer explicitly to cost as an optimisation criterion, future plans should use economic criteria extensively."

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IEA suggests merger of energy ministries