Inefficiency fails Kerala State Electricity Board restructuring programme

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The extended summer and the consequent increase in power purchase bills have blown up the losses of KSEB Limited but the company's inefficiency has resulted in the ambitious Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) to make the utility commercially viable not achieving even half its aims. "Undue delay in completion of RAPDRP projects led to non-realisation of envisaged benefit of Rs 202.70 crore by way of reduction in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C)," a top KSEBL source said.

The objective of the programme was to reduce AT&C losses by plugging pilferage points, supplying quality owner, faster identification of faults and early restoration of power, proper metering, strategic placement of capacitor banks and switches and proper planning and design of distribution network. Coverage of area under RAPDRP was urban towns and cities with a population of more than 30,000. The Power Ministry sanctioned 43 projects each under Part A and part B and three Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) projects for implementation in the state. Part A and B were to be completed within three years. Though the Centre extended the deadline to five years and further by one more year, the projects have not been completed.

The fundamentals, which were KSEBL's responsibility, were not in place. "The implementation of RAPDRP in the state was to be preceded by certain policy initiatives like preparation of detailed project report, putting in place necessary systems and undertaking measure for prevention of theft of power, constitution of special courts to deal with cases of power theft," the official said. KSEBL failed on at least two of these three counts.

Detailed project reports were approved by the Centre between June 2010 and August 2012. In fact, an audit scrutiny of 25 towns carried out in 2016, found that their preparation was faulty. Theft squads were constituted but the failure to constitute special courts as mandated by national Electricity Policy ensured that none of the 53 cases of theft of energy could be disposed of till now.