The power distribution sector is making the State shine on the map of India by supporting key growth parameters such as industrial development, technological advancement, socio-economic development and empowerment of people in Odisha.

Manufacturing hub

The State is on its way to becoming one of India's most industrialised States and is fast emerging as the manufacturing hub of eastern India. This has increased electricity demand, and the power distribution sector has very well complemented the State’s growth requirements.

Odisha is advancing on the path of industrial development, fueled by the metals and minerals sector. Iron and steel, aluminium and petroleum products account for a majority of the State’s total exports, and the Government is ensuring that manufacturing units of these industries are supported. All these are power-intensive industries. For instance, energy consumption for most of the integrated steel plants in India is generally high at 6-6.5 Giga Calorie per tonne of crude steel, as compared to 4.5-5.0 in steel plants abroad as per information available from the Ministry of Steel website. However, the discoms in Odisha are keeping no stone unturned to ensure the seamless power supply needed for their growth.

Powering growth engines

Odisha was the first State in the country to initiate power sector reforms, looking into ways to privatise the sector in order to make it financially viable while also benefiting consumers. Even after previous attempts had failed, the Odisha Government did not give up hope. It used the public-private partnership model and believed in Tata Power's vision to transform Odisha's power distribution sector. It is noteworthy here that power distribution companies (Discoms) throughout India struggle to pay to Gencos but all Odisha discoms pay their power procurement bills to Gridco without a single instance of default. In the first year of operation itself, all discoms have shown positive financial results indicating sustainable business operation in time to come without burdening the State exchequer for financial support.

Odisha, which was a power deficit State in the 1990s, is now a power surplus State. In 2019-20, the total installed capacity of all power projects in Odisha was 7,423 MW, which grew by 8.02% to 8,018 MW in 2020-21, as per an economic survey of Odisha tabled recently, in 2020-21, the average electricity demand was 2,811 MW and average availability of power was 3,514 MW. Power tariff has been rationalised for increasing the power consumption of industries to further revive the sector in Odisha post-pandemic. Power distribution companies in Odisha are playing an important role as a primary economic driver contributing to the industry and infrastructure development. Power networks that had structural weaknesses due to redundancy of single-source supply, as seen in Odisha, are getting upgraded to multiple-source power supply assurance. This is ensuring consistent power. Tata Power has committed an investment of Rs 5,000 crore in its four distribution companies (discoms) to improve reliability, reduce AT&C losses, and augment the network across regions. These discoms cover the entire State of Odisha catering to more than 9 million consumers in the State. Discoms have made significant strides by integrating technology for an efficient, uninterrupted, real-time power supply. For efficient and productive distribution network management, well-proven and cutting-edge technologies such as the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been introduced. Odisha's discoms not only ensure that customers have a reliable power supply, but they also empower their customers and play an important role in the State’s faster adoption of technology.

Discoms contribute to Odisha's economic growth by assisting industrial consumers in meeting their power needs. Even the recent tariff reduction will have a significant impact on the growth of industrial consumers. Consistent network augmentation efforts have made the network cyclone-resistant, which earlier was a major concern not only for people in Odisha but also for the State, as it used to drag the State’s development programme and industrial functioning. The State Government's support to discoms during the cyclone and in the initial stabilisation phase exemplified the true spirit of the PPP model, in which both partners ensured the business's sustainability. Regions such as Kendrapada, one of the worst affected by natural disasters, its electricity network is now cyclone-resistant. Street lighting is ensured for the security and safety of people in Odisha. Teams are working 24*7 to monitor and record the peak load of primary sub-stations/feeders daily which avoids any breakdown. This helps in successfully predicting load forecasting and addressing any potential challenges. The discoms also regularly conduct thermal scanning through ‘Thermal Imaging Cameras’ to study the health condition of equipment and carry out regular planned maintenance of its vast network to provide a reliable supply to its consumers and business hubs.

Land of opportunities