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Forum of Power Utilities proposed by Electricity Regulatory Commission

A forum of Power Distribution Utilities has been proposed at a recent meeting of Forum of Regulators.

The Forum of Regulators is a body of Electricity Regulatory Commissions of states and the centre. It is likely to provide the initial help for forming the Forum of Power Utilities.

All distribution utilities - both private and state-owned would be its members. The proposed forum is expected to function as a platform for sharing best practices in the power sector, exchange experiences on technology up-gradation processes, help efficiency improvement, offer solutions for operational issues, facilitate interaction with academia and research institutions and develop standards and benchmarks.

According to minutes of a meeting of Forum of Regulators held on Monday, post unbundling there are around 60 distribution companies in the country, however, most of them remains state owned except in few pockets like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahemdabad, Surat and Kolkata. "Despite distribution being a regulated business with 15.5% and 16% return on equity, state-owned discoms