Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 6: Expressing dissatisfaction over the maintenance of power houses and subsequent breakdowns, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has directed the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) to conduct performance audit of all its power stations. Moreover, the Corporation has also been asked to submit report on the major breakdowns in its plants during the past two years and action taken to prevent such breakdowns in future.
The State Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued these directions after it was submitted before it that the maintenance of power houses was not being attended to on emergent basis, which was resulting in tremendous drop in power generation.
Though the Power Development Corporation has submitted before the Commission that routine and periodic maintenance of power houses was being carried out regularly as per the standard practice yet it has admitted that in case of major breakdowns, it takes time to arrange damaged components as these are not readily available resulting into loss of generation. “Adequate provisions had been kept in the budget proposal for the financial year 2014-15 for procurement of recommended and commonly used spares”, the SPDC told the Commission.
Concerned over the maintenance of power houses and the breakdowns, the SERC has directed the Power Development Corporation to conduct benchmark studies of all its plants with reference to other efficient utilities of the country and get the performance audit of all its stations conducted within a period of 10 months.
It has further directed the SPDC to submit a report on the major breakdowns in its plants during 2012-13 and 2013-14. “The report shall detail the cause(s) of breakdowns, cost of breakdowns in terms of R&M works, the loss in generation due to breakdowns and the action taken to prevent such breakdowns in future”, the SERC order said.
According to the sources, in compliance to the similar directives of the SERC issued last year, the Power Development Corporation had requested the AHEC, IIT Roorkie to take up the performance audit of all its stations.
However, the AHEC, IIT Roorkie Vide communication dated June 8, 2013 enquired about the exact nature of performance audit/scope of work required to be undertaken. Accordingly, JKSPDC sought SERC’s advice on the issue and the Commission in the month of October last year made available a copy of the format for undertaking proposed performance testing of all the small hydel power stations. But till date no further progress has been made by the SPDC in this regard, sources said.
In another significant direction, the SERC has asked the Power Development Corporation to take all necessary steps for setting up of training and capacity building centres in all the major power projects.
The Commission in its earlier orders had directed the Corporation to expedite the creation of training and capacity building centres in all the major power projects. However, there was no positive development in this regard and no proper training centre has been established so far in any of the major stations with capacity of 100 Mega Watt or more.
Taking serious note of non-compliance of the directives, the SERC has once again directed the SPDC to take all necessary steps for setting up such centres for imparting training to the staff in all major power projects.
“It is all the more important as several new projects are coming up in the State and the Corporation would be requiring highly trained and skilled staff to operate and maintain such projects”, the Commission said in the order.
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