New Delhi, Jan. 19 -- The government is set to introduce an amendment bill in the upcoming budget session of Parliament to further open the power distribution sector, enforce financial discipline, and reduce the subsidy burden on states, Union power minister Manohar Lal said on Monday.

In the draft bill to amend the Electricity Act, 2003, released in October, the government had proposed a slew of reforms, including giving more teeth to state electricity regulatory commissions to fix tariffs on their own, bypassing state distribution companies (discoms) and ending cross-subsidies.

The development gains significance, as the financial stress on discoms is still very high. Discoms are laden with over Rs.7 trillion debt, of which about Rs.2....