New Delhi, May 23 : Union Power Minister Manohar Lal urged the Karnataka government on Friday to take steps to reduce annual financial losses of its power utilities and work towards implementing cost-reflective tariffs.

The minister underlined the importance of the timely clearance of dues and subsidies related to government departments and advised the state to saturate prepaid smart meters across all government establishments, including local bodies and colonies, by August this year.

The minister also emphasised the need for a centralised payment mechanism for efficient management of government electricity dues, according to a Ministry of Power statement.

Manohar Lal conducted a comprehensive review of the power sector in the state, with Shripad Naik, Minister of State for Power, KJ George, State Minister of Energy and other senior officials in Bengaluru.

The state government made a detailed presentation on the current status of power generation, transmission and distribution. Issues such as the generation mix, challenges in Right of Way (RoW) for transmission infrastructure, and the need for support in improving distribution infrastructure were discussed.

Manohar Lal lauded the state for its increasing share of renewable energy in the power mix, emphasising that the visit aimed at a better understanding of the ground-level issues and exploring new initiatives to strengthen power supply in the state.

The Union Minister further directed the state to expedite the rollout of smart metering for commercial, industrial, and other consumer categories in a time-bound manner.

He also advised early resolution of right-of-way (RoW) issues impeding transmission infrastructure and called for the adoption of the compensation mechanism issued by the government.

Manohar Lal also reviewed the performance of various urban missions in Bengaluru. He expressed satisfaction with the progress of various missions.

The revised cost estimate of the Bangalore Metro Phase-2 project will be examined for approval of the Central government once the proposal, duly approved by the state cabinet, is received, he said.

The state government has submitted a proposal for Bangalore Phase-3 of about 37 km at the estimated cost of about Rs 28,400 crore.

/IANS