THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dismayed by the number of electrical mishaps involving its staff, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to issue safety kits to its line staff. Under a ‘Safety Plan’ component in the Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for the 2018-2022 period, the state-run power utility will distribute 14,000 fully-equipped kits to line staff in electrical section offices under the distribution wing. The CIP for the four-year period was submitted to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission along with the tariff proposals on Friday.
Each kit will have 14 pieces of equipment designed to enhance safety. This includes gloves, helmet, safety belt, safety shoes, raincoat, jacket, LT tester and LT earth rod. With each kit expected to coast Rs 20,000, KSEB plans to spend Rs 28 crore on the project.
After four accidents were reported early this year, the KSEB had, in April, decided to make safety belts mandatory for line staff. The additional equipment is expected to ensure better workplace safety and compulsory use of personal protective gear as per the safety regulations of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The chief objective of utility’s safety wing is to maintain a ‘’persistent and systematic’’ safety culture in the organisation by reducing the accidents to zero level, KSEB noted in the CIP proposals.
Overall, the KSEB plans to spend Rs 76 crore in the coming four years on safety in the power distribution and transmission sectors. Under the distribution component, KSEB also plans to buy aerial lifts at a cost of Rs 39 crore, noting that accidents due to falling from electric poles have increased.
In the transmission sector, the KSEB plans to spend Rs 9 crore for better workplace safety during 2018-2022. ‘’Many fire accidents have occurred in substations recently and fire detection system is needed to avoid financial loss and outages due to fire accidents,’’ the KSEB noted.