Industrial power consumption back on track in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR:  The industrial power consumption that came down by almost 26 per cent (pc) in the first quarter of this fiscal compared to the same period last year has picked up again after relaxation of lockdown norms. Though it was initially anticipated that there would be significant reduction in power consumption and revenue collection, it has been found the difference will be not more than six pc than the previous year’s target. 

 At the review of revenue collection from electricity duty and electrical accidents in the State chaired by Energy Minister Dibyasankar Mishra, it was decided to install the Real Time Data Acquisition System (RT-DAS) to capture the metre data of the captive power plants at the earliest.  The Minister directed officials to put their best efforts for revenue collection and advised Principal Secretary of the department to conduct a separate meeting with Industry department to resolve any disputes of industries relating to the electricity duty. 

“Since RT-DAS will help capture the data of captive power plants remotely, Engineer-In-Chief (Elec) Santosh Das has been asked to complete the installation of the system as soon as possible,” Mishra said.
 Stating that electrical accidents are a major concern, the Minister said the accident compensation is a historic step as the people suffered will get benefit in case of accidents.

Since 90 pc of accidents where people do the mistake can be prevented, he observed that most of the accidents occur in connection with 11 KV systems as compared to the low tension lines.  He asked the Electrical Inspectorate to devise a mechanism for improvement of electrical safety systems in which safety training, examinations, educating electrical workmen working at ground level and creating public awareness will be a continuous programme round the year.  Principal Secretary Nikunja Dhal highlighted the measures taken on electrical safety and asked officials to bring monthly or quarterly report on the electrical accidents and measures taken up in their respective zones.