New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS): Union Minister for Power and Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar highlighted the need for increasing the share of renewable sources of power generation, especially wind energy, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

During a meeting on Wednesday in Sri Vijaya Puram (earlier Port Blair) to review the power sector in the archipelago, the minister said diesel-based power generation should be gradually reduced along with other efforts to bring down the per unit energy cost, said a statement issued in New Delhi.

The minister also suggested exploring the use of alternative sources of energy generation like ethanol and highlighted the need to work towards energy storage. The importance of Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Charging stations was also emphasised, said the statement.

The meeting, chaired by the minister, started with a presentation on the power sector scenario in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In the course of the presentation, the current status of power availability, power generation and the gap between demand and supply was highlighted, along with major challenges and possible solutions.

Officials from the Ministry of Power also gave a presentation on the projects of interconnection of islands through grid and distribution infrastructure augmentation works sanctioned by the Government of India under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) which would help improve the power supply quality and availability across islands.

The Minister asked the Union Territory administration to strive to improve Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, including power theft.

He also advised the UT administration to take steps for expeditious implementation of the sanctioned works under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

This will go a long way in making the electricity department financially viable and the UT self-sufficient for its power requirements, he said.

While reviewing urban development schemes, the minister encouraged the UT administration to improve its performance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme.

The minister along with Lt. Governor D.K Joshi also reviewed projects under AMRUT, Smart Cities Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission, which significantly contribute to ease of living for citizens.