The Minister said any State which notified the State Electricity Regulation Commission (SERC) can avail of Central loans at cheaper rates while the mandatory three per cent rate of return norm for its Electricity Board would also be waived.

Speaking at a media conference in Chennai, he said the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) would reduce its lending interest rate by one per cent to States which notify the SERC. The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) would also cut its lending rate from 14 per cent to nine per cent, he said.

The new concessions would cost the Centre Rs 2,000 crore in the next 10 years, he added. A Bill will be passed in the coming Parliament session making it mandatory for industries to obtain certification of energy efficiency or pay a cess to theCentre, the Minister announced. He said the Bill was part of a series of measures and policy decisions being adopted to conserve energy resources and reform the power sector.

``The Bill will ensure that energy inefficient systems will cost more to the manufacturers,'' he said, adding that he would also be leading a campaign to create awareness among power consumers about conservation.Kumaramangalam said the draft of the Bill was ready and he would be placing it before the cabinet soon.

An Act to regulate energy transmission was also in the anvil, he said.Other crucial issues like liquid fuel supply, standardisation of fuel supply agreement, securitisation and standardisation of power purchase agreement (PPA) will also be looked into.

Kumaramangalam said, that the Ordinance did not take away the right of the State Governments to provide free power supply to farmers or for that matter any section of the consumers.