Discoms’ meters defective, oil quality inferior: CAG

Jaipur: There is no surprise that the power distribution companies (discoms) are constantly on the red and bleeding the state exchequer.
The officials at the helm of affairs at the discoms seem to have no accountability for the public money they splurge for procurement of meters and transformer oil etc as the meters found to be defective with obsolete technology and oil inferior in quality.

The performance audit of the Jaipur Vidut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for 2016-17 found that three phase meters they have procured could not record the correct reading of a consumer. The company issue orders for 19,660 three phase meters along with meter box having optical port communication facility from Genus Power Infrastructure Ltd at the rate of Rs 2,565 per meter in March 2013.

Similarly, another purchase order was also issued to Genus Innovation Ltd for supply of 80,000 three-phase meters with optical port and low power radio communication facility at the rate of Rs 2,990 per meter.

The firms reportedly passed the prescribed test and accordingly JVVNL accepted the tender. However field officers observed that (Feb 2016) the meters became defective at a certain point of reading and whenever there was an interruption in supply, the meters automatically reversed to that point of reading at which it became defective. The memory register of the meter failed to record the consumption of energy after a certain point of reading due to supply failure. However the meters were normal and accurate within the prescribed limit in case of continuous supply.

“The JVVNL did not remove the defective meters procured at a cost of Rs 28.96 crore and was incurring losses due to non-recording of energy consumed by the consumers,” the CAG report noted.

Similarly, the company purchased three phase prepaid meters (for all three Discoms) at a negotiated price of Rs 9,500 per meter to be installed at PHED pumping stations. But the meters could not be installed due to many technical defects. As of May 2017, only 2,366 out of 12,849 prepaid meters could be installed. A committee formed by the company found the meters are of obsolete technology and an amount of Rs 12.21 crore has been wasted.

In another instance of the JVVNL’s irresponsible conduct, purchase order in favour of Savita Oil Technologies Ltd in Navi Mumbai for supply of 1,500 Kilo litre (KL) EHV grade Transformer oil at the rate of Rs 80,441.65 per KL. But four out of six composite samples failed in (Central Power Research Institute) CPRI testing and JVNL (SE) belatedly issued instructions to the field officers not to use the said transformer oil when 75% (1000 KL) of the oil had already been utilized. The remaining 250 KL was lifted by the company. It indicates the Central Testing Laboratory (CTL) Jaipur failed to ensure proper testing of the guaranteed technical particulars prescribed in the purchase, observed the CAG report.