Chandigarh mulls setting up centre to monitor power grid operations

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, April 8

In compliance with an order of the Joint Regulatory Electricity Commission (JERC), the UT Administration is mulling over setting up a separate State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) to ensure integrated operation of power supply system in the city.

The commission had recently directed the Electricity Department to ensure that the process of creation of the SLDC was expedited with the help of the Chandigarh Administration.

In a tariff order petition submitted before the commission for the fiscal 2023-24, the department had stated that the Union Ministry of Power had advised in its letter dated October 8, 2020, that the operation of state transmission utility and the SLDC shall remain with the UT Administration. “Accordingly, the proposal for creation of an SLDC, along with organisational structure, has been proposed and is under consideration of the Chandigarh Administration,” stated the department.

The creation of the SLDC was originally issued in the tariff order dated March 28, 2018. Currently, the functions of scheduling of power are being performed by the Electricity Department itself.

The commission had directed the department to form a separate SLDC and deploy employees dedicated to its operations, which are independent of the department.

An official said the SLDC would monitor the operation of the grid as well as keep all types of information about the consumption and availability of power. Also, the centre will keep an account of the electricity transmitted from the state grid. Apart from this, controlling and supervising intra-state transmission would be done at the centre.

Centre’s other functions

• Keep information about consumption, availability of power
• Maintain record of electricity transmitted from the state grid
• Control and supervise intra-state power transmission