The Bill, recently cleared by the Union Cabinet, is expected to facilitate the state electricity regulatory commissions to go ahead with tariff revisions on a timely basis. By way of explanation, amendments to the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 have been tabled at the Lok Sabha recently. Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament; with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States.

The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 was enacted for efficient use of energy and its conservation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act has enabled the establishment and incorporation of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and has conferred certain powers upon the Central Government, the State Government and BEE to enforce measures for efficient use of energy and its conservation. BEE sets consumption targets for energy-intensive industries.

As the energy...