Apex industry body Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA), on December 10, 2021, hosted its “T&D Conclave” in New Delhi. The 14th edition in the series, and held in physical format, the event focused on smart technologies in the power distribution space.
Vipul Ray, President, IEEMA asserted, “The industry is focusing on the implementation of smart technologies like an evolved grid system, smart meters, digital asset management that will help transform the seemingly traditional, manpower-heavy sector into a smarter, more efficient power system with each element in the value chain re-imagining their processes and streamlining infrastructure.”
Lowering AT&C losses
A panel discussion on “Distribution Reforms – Challenges and Opportunities “ was also held at the conclave where Vishal Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, expressed his views and observed, “Over the years, the Government has launched several initiatives for a better distribution system. Schemes like Saubhagya, DDUGJY and IPDS have been a few successful schemes which has led to significant improvement in the way discoms are performing. Now discoms need to focus to increase their operational efficiency and become more customer centric. With all these schemes in place we aim to bring down AT&C losses from 21 per cent to 12-15 per cent in the next four years.”
Vital link
The power distribution sector is a vital link in the power sector value chain as it completes the revenue cycle. Unfortunately, this is the weakest link in the power sector in India. This has had an effect not only on the financial health of distribution utilities, but has also widened the demand-supply gap further. The Prime Minister’s call for AatmNirbhar Bharat exudes confidence in the country’s ability to get its growth back on track, a release from IEEMA noted.
Attractive to investors
According to Rajeev Dalela, Chairman, IEEMA T&D Division, “With the increased support of Government and improved economics, the sector has become attractive for the investors. As India looks to meet its energy demand on its own, renewable energy and EV segment is set to play an important role.”
Strong infrastructure pipeline
Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Task Force on Infrastructure Projects and Co-Founder, Feedback Infrastructure Services Pvt Ltd opined, “The government has given a massive push to the infrastructure sector by allocating Rs.233,083 crore ($32.02 billion) to enhance the transport infrastructure. The government expanded the ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)’ to 7,400 projects. A total of 217 projects worth Rs.1.10 lakh crore ($15.09 billion) were completed as of 2020. Through the NIP, the government invested $1.4 trillion in infrastructure development.”
Featured photograph (source: GE) is for representation only
