Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Secretary to the Union Ministry of Power, P Uma Shankar, said that the power losses due to AT&C at the ESCOMS needed to be curbed across the country. “We have initiated a programme for those ESCOMS which can restrict the pilferage to below 15 per cent each year,” he said.
Shankar said that pilferage, on an average, ate into 29 per cent of the total power supplied across the country. But there was huge variation from state to state in the pilferage. “The highest amount of pilferage has been recorded in Manipur, with nearly 80 per cent of loss in power supply, while only 13 per cent of power loss has been recorded in Andhra Pradesh,” he stated. Citing the reasons, from improper supply recording facilities to unauthorised power connections, Shankar said that the incentive-based programme will help in controlling the AT&C losses to a minimal level. “ESCOMs can also become beneficiaries of subsidies in power supply by controlling the AT&C losses,” he said. Former CPRI directors and director generals, who were felicitated on the occasion, criticised the role of the research institute saying that it had become more of a “testing, certification” body, rather than concentrating on its actual function, research.
Former director, Dr Ramamurthy, said that CPRI was trying to earn more revenue by providing testing certificates, instead of focusing on becoming a global research body in power engineering.
‘Greater say for pvt sector’
The growing number of private players in the power sector had sent a strong message to the Government and public sector ESCOMS, said Uma Shankar. He noted that the role of private players would double in the next five years.
