January 02, 2002

REPORT ON SUB-TRANSIMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS PRESENTED TO POWER MINISTER

VITAL ROAD MAP FOR IMPROVEMENTS

    The Report of the Committee of Experts (COE) on Sub-Transmission and Distribution Systems was presented to the Minister of Power Shri Suresh Prabhu, by the Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Shri V.V.R.K. Rao here today. The Committee was set-up at the personal initiative of Shri Prabhu as part of the overall strategy to achieve a turn-around and self-sustenance of the power sector. More than 75 percent of the total Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses and the entire commercial loss take place at the distribution stage. The existing T & D losses in the country are as high as 50 percent and they can be brought down to around 15 percent with certain techno-commercial intervention which is being undertaken at the sub-transmission and distribution (ST & D) stage, under the Accelerated Power Development Programme.

    The COE under the Chairmanship of Shri V.V.R.K. Rao included eminent engineers from the State Electricity Boards (SEBs), private utilities, World Bank, financial institutions, consultants and representatives of manufacturers. All these experts have hands on experience in the distribution sector. The work of the committee was flagged-off by the Minister of Power in a meeting taken by him in March 2001, where he shared his concerns and concepts for revitalizing this key element of the sector with focus on bringing down system losses to acceptable minimum levels, improvement in quality of supply and ensuring consumer satisfaction. The entire report was prepared in-house by the CEA.

    Considering the urgency of reducing T & D losses to around 15 percent and to ensure quality and reliability of power supply, Shri Prabhu constituted the COE to prepare guidelines for: -

1. Preparation of bankable project reports for distribution circles for T & D losses;

2. Fixing technical specifications for equipment including meters;

3. Energy audit and accounting;

4. Standardization of the process of tender, contracts and awards;

5. Training of SEB personnel;

6. Ensuring quality and reliability of power supply; and

7. Consumer satisfaction.

    The five volumes of the guidelines finalized by the COE cover formulation of ST & D project reports, energy accounting and audit, project management and performance evaluation, technical specifications of important equipment and training of personnel. In addition, the COE has also submitted a report outlining the overall strategy for implementation of the guidelines, which would provide a road map with time schedules for achieving improvements.

    The COE in its report emphasized that energy accounting and audit should receive immediate attention and continue as a priority. For this purpose the Committee has conceptualized a profit center at the distribution circle level with energy accounting responsibilities delineated at the various levels in the circle. For reduction of technical losses, prevention of theft, improvement in voltage profile and better consumer satisfaction, the Committee has advocated high voltage distribution systems with online information system of data collection using information technology exclusively. To retain focus on energy accounting and audit system a national level review of energy accounting and audit has been proposed. The Committee recommended that the CEA should be a focal point for benchmarking of performance, guidance for loss reduction programmes and publication and dissemination of information on the subject at the national level. The Committee particularly emphasized the need for training of personnel employed in ST & D at various levels up to the grass-root level.

    The Committee held extensive discussions and interacted with all the utilities. The interactions with utilities brought into focus the fact that the guidelines would serve as a standard reference document to enable them to carry out their work in a scientific and focused manner to achieve desired results.

    The Minister of Power while accepting the report and guidelines appreciated the contributions made by the Members of the COE and congratulated them for providing a vital road map for improvements in the ST & D system. Shri Prabhu said that the Report and Guidelines would be made available shortly to all the utilities. The Minister further desired that the technical manual be implemented immediately and all the States using this manual will prepare detailed project reports for each circle by June 2002. Shri Prabhu expressed the hope that with the availability of these documents, the utilities would take the power sector reforms and improvements into a high gear.