June debacle in mind,BRPL prepares for summer ahead

Speaking to Newsline,new BRPL CEO Gopal Saxena talked about measures being taken to ensure such a situation does not arise again.

In the aftermath of the June blackouts,executives at BSES drew up a list of reasons that led to unprecedented loadshedding. Among them was the failure to anticipate the sudden increase in power demand,the futility of the Power Purchase Agreements with other states and utilities that did not abide by the arrangements,and an inefficient redressal system. While Saxena refused to touch upon reasons that led to the situation,he spoke about a five-fold agenda to prepare for the future.

“To start with,I have created a special team to look at softwares that will help us anticipate the power demand in a more adequate manner. The team will work closely with other agencies that predict power demand,such as the Northern Region Power Committee and the State Load Despatch Centre,” Saxena said.

As temperatures soared in June,BRPL was caught on the backfoot,as the power supply prearranged for the period proved insufficient to meet the demand that touched an all-time high of 4,400 MW.

Saxena is also considering the introduction of a penalty clause in the banking arrangements.

“Last summer,a lot of states and utilities that owed us power did not meet the arrangement because the delay in monsoons led to a dip in hydro generation. We could not penalise them either as such a clause did not exist,” Saxena said. In its order passed on October 21,the DERC has also directed discoms to henceforth include a penalty clause in their banking arrangements.

“We are also taking measures to improve co-ordination between our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) and the outage management procedures. It will essentially ensure that complaints on outages are handled faster,” Saxena said.

The power crisis in June was escalated by the fact that the discom was unable to deal with outages quickly. With new procedures being drawn up,Saxena hopes that will change.

Caution is also the new mantra. “We will maintain a higher buffer when we schedule power. We may not be able to recover costs on the extra purchase,but it will ensure that we are prepared to deal with a surge in demand,” Saxena said.

With new power plants in Bawana,Bamnauli,and Jhajjar expected to begin operations by October next year,Delhi will have access to additional power. Before that,the summer of 2010 is still to be reckoned with. “For that,we are focussing on mid-term arrangements with states and utilities. While we will continue entering long-term arrangements,we also want to specifically prepare for next summer,” Saxena added.

Power points
* Special team for softwares to help predict power demand
* Penalty clause in the arrangements with states/utilities
* Better handling of outage complaints
* Higher buffer to meet demand surges