Caring for the unsung heroes in energy utilities

As India went into lockdown since March 25, 2020 necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, energy utilities have continued to work like it is business as usual, while most sectors have literally come to a partial or complete standstill.It is therefore very important to protect the frontline force in the power value chain, and take adequate safety measures to mitigate the risk of exposure to the virus, notes Praveer Sinha, MD & CEO, Tata Power.

Modern life as we know it will be hard to imagine without electricity and yet it continues to be one of the least understood industries. Beyond all the creature comforts electricity enables, it delivers something even bigger, a sense of normalcy that we all crave for during these difficult times.

Power companies across the country and most importantly the people who run them have continued to deliver despite the unusual challenges they face on a daily basis.  Even though the captive demand for electricity has shrunk significantly over the past few weeks because most industrial and commercial activities have come to a halt, the work cut out for utility workers has not changed much.  If at all anything, it has become more challenging to work without compromising the safety of the workforce.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown we are all forced to live with is an experience none could have prepared for adequately.

While most of us appreciate the value of services provided by essential utilities, many do not fully understand what goes behind the scenes within this vital sector. Electricity drives the nation and at a time of a nationwide lockdown with millions of Indians confined to their home, it is this power that allows them to keep working, students to continue learning and families get their dose of entertainment. Electricity is also critical to keep our hospitals running, treating the thousands of patients, and powering the ventilators that help the critically ill in the ICUs to keep breathing.

Electricity drives the nation and at a time of a nationwide lockdown with millions of Indians confined to their homes.

Generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity is a fascinating and complex process which is understood fully by very few outside the industry, let alone appreciate the nuances. For example, the change in the demand profile, now largely addressing residential consumers has necessitated a very accurate forecasting of power that needs to be generated on a daily basis. The brief 9-minute planned blackout India managed on April 5 and how utilities across the country managed to pull it off is a good case in point.  Simply put, power plants don’t work like factories on conveyor belts.  The dynamics of input and output are not exactly linear so to speak. Also, it is not common knowledge that power plants cannot be stopped and restarted by throwing a switch. It takes days before we can restart a thermal power plant and bring it to optimum generating capacity.

In times like these, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted power generation and distribution requires keeping the engine running even as rest of the nation remains under lockdown.

Behind all the complex business of running power plants and ensuring it reaches every corner of the country through a maze of power grids is a large and dedicated workforce. A majority of this workforce in this sector is in the mining and sourcing of fuel for the power plants, operating the transmission and distribution systems after generation, and the last mile, which is the consumer-facing part of the business. A large part of the workforce here is also involved in maintenance and repairs to ensure the uninterrupted flow of power.

This system also needs to remain flexible to balance demand and supply between domestic, industrial, and commercial consumers. How we are managing the big shift in demand from industrial and commercial consumers to domestic consumers during the lockdown a good case in point here.  Therefore, in times like these, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted power generation and distribution requires keeping the engine running even as rest of the nation remains under lockdown.

At the core — the workforce

The success of all this completely depends on the commitment of the workforce. It is their efforts as a frontline task force to overcome challenges and keep the power plants operational, thus ensuring continuity of business not just for the power company but also for the nation as a whole.

It is therefore very important to protect the frontline force and take adequate safety measures to mitigate the risk of exposure to the virus. Today, this is being done by opting for rotational shifts, splitting the workforce into independent groups for operations and on-ground activities, with both groups quarantined from each other.

Having a fixed team compositions helps to ensure that same members within each team work together, which will minimise the risk of community transmission

Apart from social distancing and implementing heightened hygienic protocols at the workplace, utilities like Tata Power has also expanded work shifts from 8 hours to 12 hours while reducing the working days in a month from 25 to 16.  This is to ensure that employees spend lesser time on the road and thus avoid community transmission of the virus.

Further, having a fixed team compositions helps to ensure that the same members within each team work together during the lockdown period, which will minimise the risk of any possible community transmission, including their families.

The health of all the frontline power engineers and staff is also regularly examined and maintained, through a strict social distancing protocol along with taking care of their travel, stay, food, etc.

Giving a longer working day during the lockdown can be stressful with a negative impact on employees’ and their family members’ emotional and mental health. Programs like yoga and meditation for their well-being with techniques for dealing with anxiety and stress help to ensure that the workforce is safe, healthy and motivated during these unusual times. Acknowledging their contribution and dedication to the vital role they are playing with special incentives and reward schemes will go a long way in keeping them motivated and charged up!

The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown we are all forced to live with is an experience none could have prepared for adequately.  Yet delivering electricity to every consumer across the country is vital during these challenging times.  While we collectively grasp for a sense of normalcy and go about our routines, we should perhaps also pause for a moment and thank the utility workers who play a major part in delivering electricity to us.

(Featured photograph shows a long view of Tata Power’s 4,000-mw Mundra ultra mega power plant in Gujarat. Inside photographs show engineers at work during the COVID-19 lockdown period at Tata Power’s Trombay power plant in Maharashtra.)