DIVINE LIGHT CONSULTANTS,

BHUBANESWAR

POWER SITUATION IN ORISSA

[ A SUGGESTIVE PLAN FOR ITS
CONTROL ]

By Himansu S M
[ 20-October-2009 ]

[This report tries to analyse the past developments which have willy-nilly lead
to such a situation today. This may throw some light regarding “what to” and
“what not to” do in future..]
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CONTENTS
Contents...........................................................................................................................2
Abbreviations Used in this Report.................................................................................3
Units Used in this Report..............................................................................................3
Power Situation in Orissa........................................................................................................4
A Suggestive Plan for its control ........................................................................................4
Introduction...................................................................................................................4
The Back-Drop..............................................................................................................4
Scope of the Report......................................................................................................4
Part – 1 : ..........................................................................................................................5
How such a situation has arisen......................................................................................5
Analysis.........................................................................................................................5
The present state of our water reservoirs : ..............................................................5
The Thermal Power Plants can’t deliver to the full potential :...................................5
IPP Projects getting delayed :....................................................................................6
The CPPs are unable to deliver the surplus power to State Grid :.............................6
Low Tariff in Orissa :..................................................................................................6
Expensive Power Back-up support from other States :.............................................7
Role of Different Agencies............................................................................................7
State Government & the Electricity Department :.....................................................7
Central Government :................................................................................................7
Roll of the Public :......................................................................................................7
The Hand of Bureaucracy :........................................................................................8
The Industrialists :.....................................................................................................8
Part – 2 : ..........................................................................................................................8
How to control the situation / How to live with it.............................................................8
Summary of Analysis :..................................................................................................8
The Future Course of Action :.......................................................................................9
What The Governments Should Do ?.........................................................................9
What The Bureaucrats Can Do ?..............................................................................10
What The Distributor Companies Can Do ?.............................................................11
What the Commission Can Do ?..............................................................................11
What The Industrial Consumers Can Do ?...............................................................11
What The Government Departmental Consumers Can Do ?...................................12
What The Public Can Do ?........................................................................................12

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Other Workable Suggestions :.................................................................................12

Conclusion...................................................................................................................14
Summary of Suggestive Plan :.................................................................................14
Disclaimer :..............................................................................................................15

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT

Abbreviations Explanations / Descriptions
CEA Central Electricity Authority
CERC Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
CESU Central Electric Supply Unit
CGP / CPP Captive Generating Plants / Captive Power Plants
GRIDCO Grid Corporation of Orissa
HT, LT High Tension (Voltage), Low Tension (Voltage)
IPP Integrated Power Plants
MOU Memorandum Of Understanding
NHPC National Hydro-Electric Power Corporation
NTPC National Thermal Power Corporation
OERC Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission
OGC Orissa Grid Code
OHPC Orissa Hydro Power Corporation
OPGC Orissa Power Generation Corporation
OPTCL Orissa Power Transmission Corporation Ltd
PLF Plant Load Factor
PPA Power Purchase Agreement
RLDC Regional Load Despatch Centre
SGS State Generating Stations
SLDC State Load Despatch Centre
SOUTHCO Southern Electric Supply Company
T & DL Transmission & Distribution Loss
TL Transmission Loss
UI Users’ Interface
WESCO Western Electric Supply Company

UNITS USED IN THIS REPORT

Units Explanations
1 Unit 1,000 Watt Hours = 1KWH – A measure of Electrical Energy
A, KA Amperes, Kilo-Amperes – A measure of Electric Current / Flow
MU, BU Million Units, Billion Units
PF Power Factor – Represented by Ratio : W ÷ ( V × A )
V, KV Volt, Kilo-Volt – A measure of Electric Potential
W, KW, MW Watt, Kilo-Watt, Mega-Watt – A measure of Electrical Power

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POWER SITUATION IN ORISSA

A SUGGESTIVE PLAN FOR ITS CONTROL
INTRODUCTION
The Power supply situation in Orissa is now passing through a critical stage. The demand is
exceeding the availability to the tune of 500 to 600 MW on a daily basis. According to the
latest notification by OERC (Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission), a consultative staff
paper on Power Regulation in the State is prepared and placed in the OERC Website
www.orierc.org for information of the general public. All the interested persons are
requested to submit their considered views to the Commission latest by 25.10.2009.
This report is prepared and submitted as a response to this invitation.

THE BACK-DROP
The OERC has put the reasons of the latest power situation in Orissa as the following :
1. The hydro reservoirs in the state which are the backbone of the power supply system
in Orissa are in depleted situation.
2. The thermal power stations are not able to deliver their full potential due to various
factors like non-availability of coal etc.
3. The IPPs who were supposed to start operation by this time have yet to come up due
to various inherent problems like land acquisition etc.
4. The CGPs in the State are also unable to deliver their surplus power to the State as per
our requirement.
5. The tariff in Orissa is low compared to those in other States.
6. The power required to meet the deficit in demand arranged, (in case available) from
outside the state shall be at an exorbitant rate which the general consumers of the
state may not be able to afford.
In this scenario, it is inevitable that there is need of demand management in the use of
energy by all categories of consumers including industrial consumers of the State.

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The Commission is mandated under Section 23 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to issue order
for regulating supply, distribution, consumption or use thereof so as to maintain, efficient
supply, secure, equitable distribution of electricity and promote competition.
Hence, the Commission feels that there is a requirement for issue of a standard Load
Shedding Protocol to be implemented in the state. And thro’ this notification it seeks the
public opinion, and tries to take them into confidence.
This report tries to analyse the past developments which have willy-nilly lead to such a
situation today. This may throw some light regarding “what to” and “what not to” do in
future. So, we will present the contents of the report in two major parts, namely, (1) Past
developments leading to such a situation, and (2) How to control it or How to live with it.
The writer of the report has no authority and intention to fix responsibility of the past
mistakes, but tries to make the persons at the helm of affairs aware of the future scenario.
It’s simply a lesson to be learnt from the past mistakes. The methodology used is simple

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and straight forward common sense and general knowledge. At places this analysis may
seem to be too simplistic without anything new, but we all know that often simple &
practical solutions are the best and we all neglect them.
The purpose of this report is two-fold :
1. As a response to the OERC, a suggestive plan is submitted herewith.
2. It’s also meant for public learning, education & awareness regarding the colossal
nature of the problem, and how to live with it.

PART – 1 :
HOW SUCH A SITUATION HAS ARISEN
ANALYSIS
Let’s start our analysis from the very reasons OERC has stated to be the root cause of the
present power situation of Orissa.

The present state of our water reservoirs :

There can be two broad types of reasons :
1. Natural Forces : Scarcity of rains and irregularity of climate, for which the current
climatic year is the best example. We have no control over it, except of course the
global climatic changes because of warming, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, etc.
2. Under Human control :
a. Certain conditions like silting and other earthen deposits in the inside of the
reservoirs can be removed periodically, so that the capacity remains at its original
level. And in turn, the minimum critical level can be less giving rise to more volume
of water available for power generation. We have ample man power, and people
are eagerly waiting for work. So there mustn’t be any problem – only there has to
be political will and bureaucratic procedure to implement it.
b. Supplying water for industrial consumption must be prevented as far as practicable.
There are any number of instances where water intensive industries have been set
up without a continuous source of water, and then the demand of water is made to
supply from reservoirs meant for power generation.

The Thermal Power Plants can’t deliver to the full potential :

There may be two main reasons out of which the OERC has spelt out one. We understand
for both the reasons we are directly or indirectly responsible.
1. The non-availability of coal : This is simply not acceptable. We all know that Orissa is
blessed with coal and iron ore as well as some rare & expensive minerals. NTPC has
set up two power units (3000 + 2000 MW) thermal power plants exclusively for
Bangalore city. How do they get coal ? How do other private plants & factories having
captive power plants get coal ? Or, from another view point we can put it like this : if
coal is not available, then why in the first place thermal power plants were allowed to
be set up ? Or, did someone make a miscalculation as to the quantities of coal
available over the years. From published sources we know that Coal India had record
production last Fiscal Year.

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2. The other reason can be the maintenance, and it’s deliberately allowed to happen.
Every body knows to what extent we maintain our plant & machinery. Any body can
say that the most probable time for a machine breakdown is while its load is at the
peak. We have great trained brains, excellent and skilled man-power, can we not plan
our shut downs at the low demand period so that we can avoid break-down at the high
demand period.

IPP Projects getting delayed :

Here also, there are two basic reasons : Land acquisition & other Project delays.
1. Project delays can be taken care of by the state govt or the central govt, whichever the
case may be. What we understand is that there is no co-ordination nor any sense of
cordiality between the two governments. Also as explained later in this article, the
state Govt has inadequate bargaining power.
2. The second one “Land acquisition” is more critical. We all are familiar about the
consequences of land acquisition by force. We have to learn from the West Bengal
experience about Singur. We all know that state of West Bengal has not much of
industrialisation, but it’s one of the best governed states. In our state it’s neither this
side nor that side. Everything remains hanging.

The CPPs are unable to deliver the surplus power to State Grid :
For this, the reasons are not explicitly stated, but let’s assume that the problem is the
same i.e., non-availability of coal. The same inference is deduced. Here, we can add one
more point, that the central govt. thro’ NTPC doesn’t face any such problem. This means
the state is deprived of its legitimate share.
The other point is that “Non-availability of coal can be of two types :
1. There’s no coal reserves in the colliery – any body can say that this is not correct.
2. The mining of suitable grade of coal is hampered – no excuses like this.
3. There’s inadequate arrangements for transportation of coal to the plat site. We don’t
see any such problems, as roads, vehicles & other infrastructure are present.

Low Tariff in Orissa :

This is of course true. Our state has the power tariffs in the lowest range. We understand
this is the single most valuable gift of our OERC in carrying out its responsibility towards
the people of the state. For 8 years (Last revision took place in 2001) the commission has
resisted all the external pressure to stand bold and stout. We earnestly take this
opportunity to thank them and extend our support for the good cause they have espoused.
All statutory bodies have good intentions to serve the people. But while implementing
them, things go haywire. Unscrupulous & powerful people belonging to a particular class in
society take the advantage of loop-holes in law and try to exploit the situation in their
favour, depriving the general mass for whom the schemes are intended.
There are instances where the Plants have set up CGP or CPP of capacities more than what
their plant needs and sell their surplus power outside the state, because of the wide tariff
difference. In spite of the fact that they are bound to sell it to the State Govt grid. They do
it thro’ back-door method. Like, for example, if the plant has another unit in another state,
and so on. On the other hand Govt and the Commission remain silent onlookers. Tariff
must have a discouraging effect for the luxury and high-end consumers.

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Expensive Power Back-up support from other States :

The national situation of power is also not so enthusiastic. But other states view Orissa’s
power scarcity jealously. Their power rates being higher, whenever they get any chance to
help, they dictate their terms. This is in spite of the fact that may be to some of the states
the coal goes from the State.

ROLE OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES

One has to understand the fact that such a situation has not developed suddenly. It has in
fact taken 6 long years to develop this situation. From 2002-03 till 2007-08 the supply-
demand gap was positive and almost consistent (around 15% excess). But suddenly during
2008-09 the demand was more than the supply, just to coincide with the economic
recession. Also coupled with the climatic abnormalities, till now that situation has not
eased out.
In this section, we will try to find out what roles different agencies play :

State Government & the Electricity Department :

The first ever Reforms in the Power sector in India, took place in Orissa over a decade ago
(1996), of course with a good intention. After 12 long years, it’s still difficult to say whether
this was or is successful. The power situation was good for the last 6 years, not because of
it but certain other inherent factors prevailing in the state. And suddenly these factors
cease to be present due to some reason or other, giving rise to such a situation.
Earlier the Orissa State Electricity Board was singularly looking after (1) Generation, (2)
Transmission & (3) Distribution. Logically it made sense when it was divided into 3 units
each taking care of a single function with specialisation. But too many further divisions like
power trading, maintenance etc. is a clutter and gives rise to confusion & chaos at the cost
of efficiency.

Central Government :
The Central Govt. controls all the national power policies, but somewhere sometimes they
also play step-motherly attitude with Orissa. As of now, there are several power projects
are pending at various stages of implementation. We think, there are a few reasons as
following :
1. There is no political representation of state in the central govt.
2. There are no strong bureaucratic pressure on the centre by the state Govt.
3. By nature people of Orissa have a very high national (pan Indian) feeling. We consider
that thinking only or primarily about Orissa amounts to a narrow social attitude.
4. Orissa is a very poor state, and people are by far complacent.
5. Our political / social unity is very fragile.
6. We are generally lethargic and lack initiative.
7. We are satisfied with bare minimum requirement, and have limited aspiration.
8. So on & so forth.
9. All these mean that we have no bargaining power & we are always at the receiving
end.

Roll of the Public :

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The above listed attributes refer to the general public in the state. We are oblivious to
what is happening in Orissa, in the name of governance. The people in the know, prefer to
keep silent in view of their intellectual or career advancements. The rest majority are busy
in making just a single square meal every day (48%), out of which 33% don’t get one.
A famous political thinker once said that the people always get the Government &
Bureaucracy they deserve. We don’t think anything else could be more nearer to this
statement than us in Orissa.
On the other hand, we have another section of the public, who resort to power theft.
Unfortunately they also include the higher echelons of society. Some others don’t pay the
electric bills, which include some of the well to do individuals.

The Hand of Bureaucracy :

By any standards we have some of the finest intellectuals manning the bureaucracy in
Orissa. But despite that we have the highest poverty rate in India (48%). The analysis of
this will make the subject matter of an entirely different article. This is the irony of nature –
despite being the most blessed state with various natural resources like, coal, iron ore and
some rare & expensive minerals, forests, coastal line, rivers, mountains, etc., we still live
in perennial poverty.

The Industrialists :
The four distribution channels pertaining to four geographical regions in Orissa were given
to privately managed companies. Within a few years all of them backed out because what
they expected didn’t materialise. Three of them are now managed by a well known
national company, and the fourth being managed by the state itself by compulsion.
In fact there was lot of disturbances created by profit minded companies to take part in
this reforms without making any investments. They came here to take advantage of the
situation expecting that there would be a great return because of (1) low tariff, (2) cheap
land, (3) state sponsoring, (4) cheap labour, etc. But it didn’t work out that way.
Information and experience say that all these companies adopted unethical business
practices and owe a huge amount to the state govt.
And then there are the cases of industrial & production houses who as consumers of power
owe huge amounts of money to the distribution companies. There are several renowned
companies who are power defaulters.

PART – 2 :
HOW TO CONTROL THE SITUATION / HOW TO LIVE WITH IT
SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS :
Let’s summarise the analysis in Part-1 above. Whether one likes it or not, we are all
involved as a party to the grim situation. Without casting aspersion to any body or any
group in particular we can summarise as follows :
1. The central Govt’s apathy towards the State,
2. The state Govt’s lope-sided or hap-hazard industrial policy, and the lack of bargaining
power with the centre,

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3. The bureaucrats’ non-committal attitude towards planning of the development of

Orissa, and at times unethical attitude while implementing it,
4. The Commission’s inability to compel the distributors to maintain the system, collect
the dues,
5. The Industrialists’ non-involvement in the progress of Orissa. Most of them are
business people, and have come to do business from outside Orissa, whose prime
concern is profit. The state and its people are secondary. The Team Orissa of IPICOL
fame has a very fitting slogan “Come, Invest & Grow”. They sure do come, invest &
grow, but we are afraid, they come with the attitude “Let Orissa & its people go to
hell”,
6. And finally the people (We, the people). We understand that the most critical link in
this chain is the people like us. We have elected the Govt. For convenience, let’s divide
ourselves into four categories :
a. The Intellectuals : They are the least bothered for all these. Actually, they don’t
have time to think about this, being busy in their process of self-actualisation.
b. The Well to do : They have alternative means to tackle the power situation and for
that matter any other materialistic situation. A small fraction of them are involved
in unethical practices by utilising their shear power.
c. The Middle Class : They suffer in silence. They don’t have the means for tackling
power shortage. They don’t have the powers to ignore the bills either. A few of
them resort to power theft.
d. The Have-nots : They can’t pay for their consumption, agriculture. They some times
get tempted to steal power, sometimes mass sabotage, public disturbances, etc.,
driven by some self styled leader. In extreme cases they commit suicide.
[ Note : Please read the Article “Administrative Reforms in India” by this Author at :
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18639957/Administrative-Reforms-in-India ]

THE FUTURE COURSE OF ACTION :

The situation is so bleak, that a concrete set of workable and practical solutions can’t be
evolved. In our country, things move in their own way. Though we have a Govt., still the
various departments have their own way of doing things, own philosophy, own target,
which often comes in the way of another. We hardly have a common goal.
As we saw in the analysis, all the sections of the society starting from the highest office to
the lowest members, each has a role to play and an attitude to change. It’s a wishful
thinking that such a situation can be tackled within a short period of time.
The only alternative is to :
1. Do something which can lessen the sufferings due to power shortage, and
2. Educate and inform the general public so that they can understand, learn, and
appreciate the situation. Also make them mentally, prepared for the situation, prevent
them to do things which can worsen the situation further.
And this precisely is the aim of this report on suggestive plan for easing power situation in
Orissa.

What The Governments Should Do ?

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The power shortage is a national scenario. Orissa is experiencing it just for the last one
year. As said earlier, the happy days are not due to the power reforms done in 1996, but
because of certain inherent nature of the conditions prevailing in Orissa. Also it can’t be
said that there was no positive result of the reforms.
The situation is becoming bad to worse day by day.
1. The purchasing power of the people are increasing day by day. One international
report on wealthy men in the world says that the number of wealthy men in India
grows at the fastest rate (42% in 2007-2008) in the world.
2. The availability of white goods (Luxury & power consuming) are increasing because of
technological advancements.
3. The “consumerism” is also increasing.
4. Hence the burden on electricity demand.
5. On the other hand the number of poor also increases, but most of them don’t have
electricity.
Now the time has come to ponder and plan meticulously for the future course of action.
1. The Central Government should expedite the execution of all the approved or
incomplete power projects in Orissa.
2. Another key area is Nuclear Power Plants. India should have a clear-cut policy for
peaceful utilisation of nuclear power for its ever increasing demand. N-Power plants
constitute only 6% of the installed capacity in India.
3. The state Government should carefully plan any future power projects in the back-drop
of coal availability and allotment of linkages. On the one hand the state government
complains of “non-availability” of coal, and on the other it keeps on sanctioning power
plants after plants to private companies. It’s beyond any stretch of imagination for
anybody to explain this.
4. Or rather, they should review all the existing thermal power plant requirements of coal,
and in addition, all the on-going projects. Make sure that all the coal input are met in
time.
5. The Govt.s should sincerely encourage non-conventional and renewable energy in a
big way, if possible with incentives.
6. A long-term project to produce electricity from waste is a must for any govt. This has a
dual purpose :
a. Waste management – all our towns are filled with garbage.
b. Perennial source of power – no dearth of garbage anywhere.
7. Maintenance of safe transmission practices, like no lowly hanging high-tension lines.

What The Bureaucrats Can Do ?

The bureaucrats come into the picture because they are the advisors for the government
policies and also the executor of those policies. While the first one’s intention is not in
doubt, the latter falls short of credibility. The general observation shows that they are
more concerned with their career advancements rather than public service. They have to
make certain sincere and ostensible gestures to the public so as to earn credibility to
themselves and positive result to people oriented programmes.

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It’s not to imply that the bureaucrats have low credibility, but rather their priority is not
public service. Many of them do excellent things for the public, but they do it directly or
indirectly for their own career advancements. The down-trodden remain as they were.
Not utilising the sanctioned money for public oriented programmes in full, is another
appropriate example. This is another area of discontentment. It’s generally observed that
most of the central or global assistance for the people’s projects remain un-utilised. This is
allegedly because in the presence of strict vigilance the concerned implementing agencies
don’t spend, for they don’t gain much.

What The Distributor Companies Can Do ?

We have to understand the basic instinct of human being. Whatever role we play, we try to
do things for our own benefit. The state govt has invited outside companies to take charge
of distribution. They have come for business, they would try to do anything and everything
for the profit. Expecting them to do positive things for the public on their own is a cardinal
mistake we do. This reason explains why one of the earlier companies left, without even
paying the govt. And the state govt willy-nilly has taken charge of one Distco.
It’s a general practice of the distcos that they deploy the technical staff in arrear
collection. In places where the consumers are stronger, the distcos yield to their pressure.
And in places where the consumers are weak, the distcos exploit them.
If they are really interested to do business here, they should do at least three things :
1. Properly maintain the equipment & infrastructure which are in good working order,
2. Replace all the old / worn-out / obsolete equipment in a continuous development
programme,
3. Rural electrification, etc.

What the Commission Can Do ?

Our observation of these prompt us to say that if the govt can take care of one zone, then
why not three zones more. The state govt should declare the defaulting company as black-
listed and remove them. Take the distribution into its own hand. By this we can remove at
least one weak link from the chain. Also the Commission should empower itself to deal
with erring agencies, be it distcos, the defaulting public or any other agencies.
Let’s examine another situation : The Commission suddenly woke up and approached the
members of public for power shortage management suggestions. Did it do so when things
were in control or when the reforms came into being. The reason it does now is that during
the ensuing harsh measures it wants to take public into confidence, so that there won’t be
a hue and cry.
As far as the tariff is concerned, the tariff should be enhanced for Industrial consumers and
high-end individual consumers, and also for luxury consumption.

What The Industrial Consumers Can Do ?

1. All the power intensive industries must go for energy audit, and fix their accurate
requirement.
2. As far as practicable they should minimise wasteful consumption.
3. They must go for renewable energy source for long-term solution.
4. Industrial waste recycling to produce power.

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5. And above all, don’t mis-appropriate power, and pay all the legitimate bills.

What The Government Departmental Consumers Can Do ?

The consumers of electricity include all the governmental departments to a sizable extent.
Like we have, administration, police, traffic, judiciary, post office, engineering, agriculture,
and so on. The general observation is that these institutions are also a sizable part of
defaulters. Willy-nilly the get the inspiration from the top to do so. If the govt doesn’t pay
itself, how can they expect public to pay bills regularly.
We have unfortunately a condition of “divergence”. All the govt departments function in
isolation and like separate unrelated bodies, i.e., they have no co-ordination with other
departments. Each having its own objectives & targets, and they have to do things with
detriment to others. For example, if a consumer has no municipal sanction for a legitimate
construction, still the electric dept supply electricity to him.
We suggest the following to ease the situation :
1. Every office should update their wiring system and maintain it at its best condition.
2. Pay the current bills regularly.
3. The dispute of arrears can be solved with discussion and paid in instalments

What The Public Can Do ?

The public is the single most critical agency to take the responsibility. Individuals members
from the public are at the helm of affaires in all the agencies which we have discussed. So
it’s pertinent on the part of the public to take corrective steps.
In cases of Govt failure, the public shows interest in protest. But unfortunately, the public
knows only how to block a road or a railway track, putting only the other sections of public
into inconvenience. Very rarely, we see actual pressure on the govt or relevant statutory
authority in a protest.
The public has a very extensive role to play. But again a sizeable section of society can’t
be mobilised because satisfying hunger is their prime priority in life. Others can take
following steps :
1. First, pay the bills regularly.
2. In case of dispute, go for proper grievance cell.
3. Keep the house wiring in correct order, proper earthing etc.
4. Conserve power, no misuse, abuse, overuse, or wasteful use.
5. As far as practicable, use power for absolute necessity. Use CFL Bulbs, and other low
energy consumption certified household electrical appliances.
6. For God’s sake no theft of power.
7. Don’t involve in sabotage of power infra-structure.

Other Workable Suggestions :

In this section we shall discuss some workable solutions for which the Govt has to take
initiative. These are in addition to the above mentioned suggestions. We call them
workable, because these are man made, and can be practically implemented.
Let’s elaborate. There are three broad types of causes of failure :

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1. Nature oriented : Man has no control over it.

2. Man-made : These arise out of any intentional or un-intentional acts by people. These
can be controlled by strong will, discipline, plan of action, motivation, education, etc.
3. The third type is the basic instinct of man, like criminal activity, rivalry, sabotage,
revenge, corruption, exploitation, etc. For example, some section of our society has
the mentality that “if we are deprived of something, then deprive others too”. These
kind of attitudes are very difficult to change.
So, we will concentrate on the suggestions about “Man-made” and controllable factors that
can be physically and practically implemented. These are given below :
1. The most important point is harnessing solar energy. The people must be motivated
and sufficiently rewarded to use solar energy. The Govt can contribute in :
a. The Research & Development of solar systems,
b. Making the equipment available with a reasonable price in the market for public
use,
c. Making the public aware of such systems, and if required, educate the mass.
2. Then comes the other renewable energy sources, like wind power, etc. These need to
be developed seriously, for a long-term benefit.
3. Power from Waste Recycling & Management. The urban & rural waste in India is going
to be a huge and continuous source of energy. The Govt needs to make a suitable
policy & work on that.
4. Power from biological waste & by-product, like cow-dung (gobar-gas), etc. Though we
have policies within the agricultural promotions in the state, still general public has not
utilised it to the full extent.
5. Rain water harvesting. In several other states in India like Tamilnadu, the rain water is
extensively harvested, by the general public. This relieves a great burden on our water
reservoirs from agriculture purpose, so that we can utilise more water for power.
6. As far as practicable, industries shouldn’t be allowed to use ground water for their
works. This is a criminal waste of our purest source of potable water.
7. We are in an era of consumerism. Companies advertise their products in a plethora of
ways. One of these methods consume a lot of electricity, like on the sides of main
roads the companies have put up thousands of lighted hoardings. They consume a lot
of electricity. These should be immediately stopped and the companies asked to light
their hoardings with solar or other sources of energy. The case is the same with
hundreds of larger hoardings & they consume a lot of electricity. If it can’t be
prevented, then the power rate should be enhanced to discourage them.
8. It is found that in the urban area the street lightings are too much, that is they are
lighted more than required. The Street light posts are also too closely placed. Most of
the times, they are not switched off during day-time. The Municipalities can save
power by lighting only the alternative poles, and making sure they are put off during
the day.
9. In case of power short-fall, industries having own CPP shouldn’t get power from the
state grid. They have to manage production from their own CPPs. Also they can
stagger or reschedule their working shifts to have an optimum productivity in terms of
availability of power and the production out-put.

© Himansu S M, Divine Light Consultants, Bhubaneswar. October, 2009

Power Situation in Orissa Page 14 of 15

CONCLUSION
During our discussions, we have tried to analyse the power situation from all possible
aspects. We have also tried to suggest corrective measures for each category of people
concerned. We have also given some workable suggestions.
Let’s remember a fundamental point. We all know that there are several agencies involved
in the worsening power situation. No one agency is singularly responsible, rather all are
collectively responsible. And hence if the corrective method is shared collectively, it can
work out successfully. But again, there are no short-cut or immediate remedy. All these
are medium-term or long-term suggestions.
One more pertinent point is that we can’t change certain things like :
1. The basic structure & policy of Governments – National or State.
2. The basic instinct of human nature : The same individuals behave differently when
they are placed in different category of people, like Govt., administration, politicians,
technical staff, industrialists, public, etc. Thinking and attitudes change.
3. And finally the Nature.
The only thing we can control is to some extent our habits and practices towards a
common goal. It’s better to enjoy less for a longer period than to exhaust all our resources
within a short period and suffer. Finally, let’s sum up the suggestive plan in the following
section. We know that some section of people will not feel comfortable in adopting, or
rather they may oppose it. But if we sincerely follow these, then we may get some results
in the due course of time.

Summary of Suggestive Plan :

The following are the most important & critical suggestions (The ten commandments) :
1. Completion of construction of all the power plants at various stages of implementation.
2. Meticulous planning and allotment of collieries for power generation.
3. Forcible implementation of power supply to state grid from CPPs without giving any
loop-holes for non-compliance.
4. Enhancement of power tariff for :
a. luxury consumption and high end domestic consumption,
b. commercial consumption,
c. product advertisement hoardings.
5. Austerity measures in consumption on the part of all categories of users. State Govt
must make an effort to educate people about this and how to learn living under such
power conditions.
6. State & central govt departments should show leadership in paying bills.
7. Non-conventional & renewable source of energy must be developed & used to our
benefit.
8. In the extreme case of power load shedding, equitable rationing should be done, and
not to the benefit of a particular section of the society.
9. Maintenance of all electrical installations for minimum T & D loss.
10. Aggrieved public must be prevented from doing acts of sabotage.

© Himansu S M, Divine Light Consultants, Bhubaneswar. October, 2009

Power Situation in Orissa Page 15 of 15

Disclaimer :
This report neither tries to fix responsibility on any particular category of people, nor tries
to cast aspersion on any individual. We are all humans and to err is human. This is our
earnest endeavour to learn from past lapses and make everybody aware of that fact. What
we need at this juncture are :
1. Correct Govt policies,
2. The political will,
3. Impartial bureaucratic machinery,
4. Efficient service delivery,
5. Sincere public commitment.
6. And finally, a mental preparedness to learn to live under power shortage situation.

[ End ]

© Himansu S M / 20-October-2009.
Divine Light ( Dibyajyoti ) Consultants ( DILICONS ), Bhubaneswar, Orissa Sate, India.

© Himansu S M, Divine Light Consultants, Bhubaneswar. October, 2009