Power utilities told to boost efficiency, cut losses
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) convened its 31st State Advisory Committee meeting under the chairmanship of Nand Lal Sharma in Panchkula recently.
The meeting was attended by HERC member Mukesh Garg, MD of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) A Sreenivas, MD (HVPNL) Ashima Brar, MD (UHBVN) and Haryana Poweer Generation Corporation Limited Ashok Kumar Meena and Electricity Ombudsman RK Khanna.
Sharma highlighted the pressing need to enhance operational efficiency and close the gap between the average cost of supply (ACS) and average revenue realisation (ARR). He directed power utilities to hire full-time consultants to ensure their operations meet international standards and optimise performance.
During the review of efforts to reduce aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses, Sreenivas reported that DHBVN, serving 42.58 lakh consumers, currently faced 12.37% AT&C losses but aimed to bring the losses to single-digit figures. Meena confirmed that the UHBVN, catering to 37.64 lakh consumers, had reduced its losses to 9.15%, staying within regulatory limits.
Brar shared that HVPNL, which operates 468 substations, had limited transmission losses to just 1.86%. However, she raised concerns about the rising costs associated with high-tension (HT) transmission lines, which have strained budget allocations.
