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| IIPA Organizes Civil Society interaction on Power Distribution in Jammu &Consumers’ Satisfaction | |  Jammu, May 10 (Scoop News)-Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), J&K Regional Branch organized a lecture cum and civil society interaction on “Power Distribution in Jammu, Consumer Satisfaction & the Way Forward” at the Seminar Hall of IIPA, Jammu. The lecture was delivered by Managing Director, Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) G. P. Singh. A team of technical officers of JPDCL and PDD also participated in the interaction which continued for more than an hour.
Kuldeep Khoda, former DGP & Chief Vigilance Commissioner, J&K and President, the Central Government Pensioners Welfare Association, Jammu, was the Chief Guest, while B. R. Sharma, former Chief Secretary, J&K and Chairman, IIPA J&K Regional Branch, presided over the function.
The Managing Director, JPDCL in his detailed presentation highlighted the importance of reliable and quality power supply which forms the backbone of governance and economic growth. He elaborated the need for dependable integrated power chain comprising generation, procurement, transmission and distribution and emphasized that efficiency in every component of the system is vital for ensuring uninterrupted quality electricity supply to about 12.50 lakh domestic consumers. He also shared the organisation’s grievance redressal system and said that it is reposing confidence among consumers.
He informed that the Jammu region has about 1700 MW peak demand. Increase in demand necessitated 3 to 6 hour power curtailment during peak hours. He also referred to the various challenges such as power theft, illegal hooking, meter bypassing, unauthorized connections, non-payment of bills, which contribute to Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses which impact the honest consumers. He however, said that as a result of various measures initiated in the last four five years, these losses have come down to 26 percent and efforts are afoot to further reduce it to 20 percent even though national average is 12to 15 percent.
G B Singh said that power reforms are vital to overcome challenges that need full public cooperation. In this connection he referred to the reforms already undertaken under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for modernization of the distribution network, reduction of AT&C losses and strengthening of power infrastructure. He highlighted the progress made in smart metering, improvement in billing and collection efficiency, consumer grievance redressal systems and promotion of rooftop solar systems under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana. He reiterated JPDCL’s commitment towards building a modern, transparent and consumer-centric power distribution system in Jammu through technological reforms, administrative discipline and active public participation.
Speaking on the occasion Kuldeep Khoda, described power distribution and consumer satisfaction as an important public issue affecting every section of society. He emphasized that energy remains the backbone of development and appreciated the efforts being made by JPDCL towards strengthening consumer-oriented services and modernizing the power distribution system.
Khoda highlighted the importance of quality power supply, consumer-friendly services and better coordination among various components of the integrated power system. He made specific reference to Apps which have to be consumer friendly so that they easily use these. He also stressed the need for promoting renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar systems, and called for greater public awareness regarding the benefits of solar energy and smart metering initiatives.
In his presidential remarks, B. R. Sharma, while sharing the concerns of the consumers on power supply and related matters, appreciated the significant improvements made in the power distribution sector during the past few years and emphasized the need for continued systematic reforms and modernization. He stressed that power utilities should become more service-oriented and consumer-centric and underlined the importance of prompt grievance redressal, transparency and technological reforms for improving public confidence in the system.
Sharma also stressed the need for institutionalising interaction with the stakeholders and said such exercises would go a long way in reducing misconceptions about the department concerned. In this connection, he said that the feeder-wise What Groups with consumers, as has been done in some areas, will be of immense help both to the consumers as well as the Corporation.
Er. M. M. Gupta, Director Seminars, presented the welcome address. He referred to integration of SCADA, GIS mapping and automated outage management systems as defining characteristics of the modern Power Distribution System.
The proceedings were conducted by the Joint Secretary Prof Anil Gupta and also presented a formal vote of thanks.
Prominent office bearers and Executive Committee members of IIPA J&K Regional Branch who attended the lecture included K. B. Jandial, Vice Chairman; Vikrant Kuthiala, Hony Treasurer; Dr. C. M. Seth, S D Swatantra, Prem Gupta, C L Banal, S S Bijral, Nisar Ahmed, and Vinod Padha.
Eminent members of The Central Government Pensioners Welfare Association, Jammu, members of civil society, members of IIPA J&K Regional Branch, representatives from various industries and officers from the J&K Power Development Department also attended the lecture in large numbers.
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