英语论文网

faulty meters and misclassification of consumers).

The power sector in Orissa suffered from

high transmission and distribution losses,

inadequate accountability for various segments (generation, transmission, and distribution),

poor financial performance, poor quality of service and manpower related issues

There was a pressing need to solve the financial problems of Orissa State Electricity Board (OSEB) as well. There was also a pressing need to meet the projected demand of funds for investment in generation, transmission and distribution system. The National Economic Policy announced in 1991 envisaged liberalisation and private participation in infrastructure development, and this looked like the life line for the government itself.

Beginning of Power Reforms in Orissa

The first comprehensive restructuring and reform exercise was carried out by Orissa State Electricity Board (OSEB) in India and was the pioneer in South East for the same. Several leading management consultants and multilateral agencies like World Bank, Department of International Development (DFID) – Government of UK, Asian Development Bank. The experience of Orissa would in future prove to be useful for the formulation of reforms in other states aspiring to do the same.

Restructuring the Power Sector

The World Bank agreement for Power Sector restructuring in Orissa consisted of

? Unbundling and corporatization of OSEB

? Privatization of generation, Grid Corporation, and distribution

? Creating Competition for new generation capacity

? Establishing a Separate regulatory body

? Tariff Reform

At the core of the reform process was to envisage more autonomy for the host utility and involvement of the private sector in power sector development. The role of the government would thereby be more passive and there was a need for the Orissa government to shift from its earlier active role.

Reform Process

The reform process that was started in Orissa was carried out in a phased manner. The initial stage was setting up of the regulation commission namely the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission. It was decided that the setting up of this board would be of utmost importance and thus the roles were defined.

The role of OERC was to:

Take measures to ensure that an efficient electricity industry is set up in the State

Issue licenses for transmission and distribution and set tariff

Safeguard the interests of consumers

Ensure that monopolization was removed from the system

Reforming of electricity tariff at the bulk power, transmission, and retail levels

Reform Phase I

The first phase of the reforms was to be started with the unbundling and corporatization process of the various departments in the erstwhile OSEB.

Unbundling and Corporatization

Three Government-owned corporate utilities were formed with agreement ensuring full autonomy with effect from 1st April 1996. Their roles and responsibilities were well defines with their independent boards. These were:

Orissa Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) - responsible for hydro power generation

Grid Corporation of