Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that State governments are free to dole out free electricity to anyone. However, they have to pay for the same to the electricity boards.<br/><br/>Mr. Shinde was in Amritsar to attend the Power Finance Corporation meeting with independent power producers from all over the country. He said the Electricity Act 2003 prohibits from giving free electricity and advocated that states should generate their own power.<br/><br/>The minister also expressed satisfaction over private investment in the power sector. He added that under the 11th five year plan 78000 MW power will be generated and there would be no more problem in the coming two years.