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| Financial Self-reliance and Power Sector | | | Er. Vikram Gour | 5/21/2012 11:08:51 PM |
| The Chief Minister has been repeatedly talking about Financial Self-reliance of the state of which overall income from all resources is Rs. 6,500-crores and the expenditure on the government employees' salaries alone is Rs 13,500-crores. And the young CM believes that it is the power sector alone that can help the state to become financially self reliant. Rightly so, as the state has the highest Hydro-electric power potential of about 20,000 MW which if adequately harnessed, at right time, can solve the 'financial deficit' problem of the state. The CM perhaps forgets that harnessing of Hydel-power potential is a very time consuming exercise that requires huge financial support not only from the GOI but also from the International Financially sound Institutions/countries. And for this to happen the state needs to have a very resourceful and sound professional Power Sector Infrastructure including its handlers in the state.
Unfortunately, the state has taken more than ten years to start implementing (nationally accepted) basicPower Sector Reforms as recommended by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to streamline its power generation, transmission, distribution and revenue realization utilities. The existing set-up of Power Transmission and Distribution (T&D) costs the state exchequer a whopping loss of around 2,500-crores annually averaging to a T&D loss of around 70% in purchase and sale of electric power only.
This, however, does not take into account thousands of crores spent annually by the government on improvement and extension of the power system as this funding is done under various schemes of GOI and not taken into account by the Power Development Department (PDD) of the state in preparation of its annual balance sheet. For instance, the CM has recently talked about spending Rs. 1,900-crores under R-APDRP to contain T&D losses and reduce the losses by a meager 3% annually by improvement and up-gradation of transmission and distribution network and simultaneously carrying out much needed power sector reforms. AS far as improvement in the existing distribution system is concerned this work has, on paper, been going on for years now involving hundreds of crores that is why a Revised APDRP has been proposed by GOI to provide the State Power sector additional funds to strengthen the network and improve T&D efficiency to reduce the losses.
But it will not be out of place to mention that the funds already provided for system improvement have largely been misutilised or misused for purposes not covered under the schemes and the transmission network has shown no improvement in performance or reduction in T&D losses which still hover around 70% neither has it improved the distribution network which cannot withstand even mild blow of wind or rain.
The distribution network at all levels of 33kv, 11kvor 440/220 levels and the distribution transformers stations of 33/11kv or 11kv/440-220volts are still seen with loose hanging conductor, tilted poles, loose jumpers, live creepers almost touching 33kv /11kv/440-220volt lines even along the city main roads and streets not to talk of rural areas. As per recommendations, providing of insulated cable as neutral conductor in all LT network to prevent illegal hooking and theft of power has not been done anywhere at all due to the vested interests. The receiving stations and sub-stations are ill maintained and not adequately staffed. There is a long list of things that could be improved under APDRP to reduce so called T&D losses.
Anyway, it is not only harnessing more and more power that will improve the power scenario and the financial standing in the state but state shall have to carry out complete Power Sector Reforms and completely unbundle this huge Power sector Organization into smaller independent and autonomous bodies that can take independent professionally and commercially sound decisions to make the Power Sector and the State really financially self-reliant.
Although, the government has taken first step to unbundle the Power Sector by creating 'Transmission Utility' yet a lot depends upon what shape it is finally given to effectively function. If the Transmission Utility also takes the shape of JKPDC that has Board of Directors of 11-members headed by the Chief Minister with no technocrat professionally sound and expert in job of Power Generation and no financial expert to advise how to arrange the huge financial support nationally and/or internationally for exploiting the huge Hydro Power Potential, the future is going to be bleak and dismal. Imagine in the last more than 16-years of its functioning since its creation the JKPDC still do not have a single technical or non technical employee on its cadre to manage various power projects under their control.
The entire staff is on deputation that stays for a period of not more than two years with JKPDC and it goes back to their parent department. It is, therefore, essential that the Minister in charge (Chief Minister himself) has to very carefully analyze the advice he receives from his advisors in formation of the entire structure of 'Power Transmission Utility' to achieve optimum benefit out of it . The best thing would be to take help of a top Levelnationally/Internationally reputed Consultancy Firm in the country in formation of the this Transmission Utility if the unbundling of the Power Sector is to be given a sound footing to make the state Financially Self- reliant. It would also be advisable to immediately go in for formation of independent 'Power Distribution Utility' that will help reducing T&D losses to a reasonable limit of around 15% and delink the engineering-wing maintaining the distribution system from the revenue realization wing.
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