MEDA approves ₹3,346 Crore Revised Scheme for BEST Undertaking

31 Aug 2025 , 07:16 PM

The Maharashtra industries and energy department on Friday approved a revised scheme worth ₹3,346.29 crore for the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking under the Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

According to a government resolution issued during the day, the plan focuses on strengthening and modernising Mumbai’s power distribution network, enhancing capacity, and ensuring reliable and affordable electricity for consumers.

The revised approval follows earlier clearances granted to BEST for smart metering, distribution loss reduction and system upgrades under the same scheme. In 2022, a detailed project report of ₹3,461 crore was cleared, of which ₹1,649.12 crore had already been sanctioned for prepaid smart meters and loss-reduction works.

The new plan, aligned with the state’s Resource Adequacy Plan up to 2030, envisages large-scale infrastructure expansion. This includes setting up new receiving and distribution substations, deploying advanced distribution management systems, and installing supporting equipment to strengthen the grid. The updated project report of ₹3,346.29 crore has been approved by the state cabinet and will now be sent to the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) for monitoring committee clearance.

The action plan also sets annual targets for cutting aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and narrowing the ACS-ARR gap (average cost of supply versus average revenue realised), in an effort to improve the financial health of the distribution utility.

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