Power Dept engineers, field staffs take public stand on current crisis

The recent fire that damaged one of the main transformer at Nagarjan Power Station, Dimapur District

This is to express the utter frustration, exasperation and helplessness of the engineers and field staffs of the Power Department in trying to maintain power supply across the State for the last several years, forced to do so literally with our bare hands only, without any support and resources from the Government. Circumstances have now compelled us and we have reached a stage to unequivocally but reluctantly state that “it is simply not possible”.

As the Government appears to be totally unconcerned and wishes to remain unperturbed over the situation, we now wish to tell the State Government that it is not possible to maintain proper power supply without adequate equipment, tools, materials or resources. For years, we have been “managing” on credit, beg and borrow of materials mode for maintenance. And it has now reached an unprecedented breaking point. Can any responsible Government or generals order their soldiers to go to the battle front without weapons and ammunition?

This is not an overnight situation without adequate SOS distress calls, as evident below;

On repeated and complete ignoring of our Departmental and Chief Engineer’s proposal of maintenance requirement, on 28.07.2015, APEN was compelled to write to the Govt high lighting the acute deficiency in allocation of State Annual Plan to the Power Sector during 2015-16, and stated that “with the meager and deficient fund allocation, and its resultant impact on the power supply system of the State, the Department will not be in a position to restore power supply in the event of major breakdown of machinery and equipment, which were imminent”. It further stated that with the fund allocation of only Rs 7.11 cr. or 5% of the requirement, the Government was not considering power as an essential sector
As the above evoked no response, the same was re-iterated by APEN in a letter addressed to the Chief Secretary dt: 10.03.2016.
Chief Engineer (T&G) and Chief Engineer (D&R) wrote vide their letters dt: 07.09.2016 and dt: 08.09.2016 respectively, bringing to the notice of the Govt the impending power crises in the State due to the Government’s lack of resource allocation to the power sector.
After running through all channels and options, left with no other choice, in the interest of public service, APEN through a Press Release dt: 27.08.2016 gave An Appeal requesting the State Government to take remedial measures to address the prevailing power crisis in the State.
Local media has sufficiently covered about the impending power crisis. The Department and the Association has also briefed the Government at all levels innumerable times about the impending crisis, and several times at the Chief Minister’s level.
During such briefings, all necessary technical, logistics, manpower, financial and material requirements were given in detail, explained and pleaded for.
During almost all such instances, assurances were given, which have all turned out to be mere lip service.

Power Department is likely to be the only Department which practically and physically goes to the premises of every single house in Nagaland. It does so for meter reading and billing, for maintenance and line restoration etc. It has assets in every single town and village, which requires operation &maintenance. Which Department has similar assets requiring such technical operation and maintenance?

The number of locations where we need to maintain 24 hours duty shifts must also be one of the highest in the State. When there are rains and storms, power lines get affected the first, hence our officers and staff gets on the job when others are in the comfort of their homes. Sundays and holidays has no meaning for us as power supply requirement does not take a break. Yet, in spite of all these, we are treated as a minor Department with Rs 13.50 cr. outlay for this year, which is again only 13% % of the minimum requirement for maintenance. Even of this morsel, not a single rupee has been released to the Department till date.

To add to the crisis, while other non-essential and much smaller Departments were allocated higher funds and are laden with excess staff, we are hampered with acute shortage of field staff, by at least 500 nos. which has resulted in about 400 villages left without field staff. Even within the towns, during line faults the time taken for restoration are prolonged due to shortage of staff.

When District after District faces prolonged black outs and power crisis, it is not the duty of the Association to point out to the Government of its own duties or failures. But we are compelled to do so, as it is our members who face misdirected public harassment and intimidations.

Department of Power had since 2005-06, proposed and repeatedly pressed for 200MVA (2x100MVA) transformer capacity at Nagarjan 132/66/33kv sub-station. Over the years, it repeatedly highlighted that one of the old existing 20MVA out of 60MVA was on the verge of breakdown and urgently needed to be upgraded and replaced by the new proposed transformer. While the Government did not give due priority, the transformer finally broke down during Aug 2012 and Dimapur faced a major power crisis then.

Faced with the crisis, a 100MVA transformer was arranged without financial sanction. It was later sanctioned for the single 100MVA but further funding was stopped/not forthcoming, leading to the present crisis. Hence unless the required additional capacity of 100MVA is added, as proposed by the Department since 2005, Dimapur shall continue to face power crisis.

During winter the 132/33kv 24MVA sub-station at Kohima is also overloaded by 40%. If a single transformer in this station goes down, Kohima shall be plunged into complete darkness, as there is not a single spare on standby.

Over the years, Government has made short change on fund allocation to the Power Department for operation and maintenance on the ground that revenue collection was poor. But here also we would like to point that the Government has commissioned the Power Reforms & Restructuring Study in 2003 and its Report was submitted during 2006. Government is still to act on this to structurally reform the power sector on commercial lines, for which neither the Department nor the Association is responsible.

Year after year, Power Department has been discriminated and side-lined for its due share of even the minimum fund requirement for operation and maintenance on the pretext that it is making too much losses. While not disputing the high energy losses, we would like to question whether the Department is structured on commercial lines or as any other welfare Government Department?

Secondly, even though the energy losses are high, it is at least being consumed by every single citizen and not being misappropriated by the Department. As a welfare state, the Govt should be at least appreciate that practically every household in Nagaland has electricity connection, unlike many other states in India – where more than 300 million households are without electricity. Therefore, we would reply that even on the argument of adequate power supply first or revenue first, adequate power supply should come first for any responsible Government, and then only chase for revenue. The Government must fulfill its obligations first and then only demand upon the citizens to fulfill theirs.

Shall the Government then ask the Department to first increase its revenue collection and then restore power supply out of thin air? If electricity is neither an essential nor a priority sector for the State Government, then so be it. The Government, in its wisdom, can decide.

We are sorry if this press statement is sounding harsh. But we are simply clearing our stand in the interest of public service. The Association, its members and our field staffs who are sacrificing and working hard without a break cannot be held responsible for the power crises in the State today, which is actually of the State Government’s own making.

Above statement issued by:

Er. Shikato Sema, President, Association of Power Engineers Nagaland (APEN)

Er. Rokong ou Suohu, General Secretary, Association of Power Engineers Nagaland