BENGALURU: In a bid to improve the Karnataka energy department’s rating among other states, electricity supply companies (Escoms) are working towards reducing the number of power cuts and their duration. Looking to improve ranking from the Union government, the term ‘power cut’ is no longer used. Instead, it is called power interruption or disruption.
“There are no power cuts, but scheduled or unscheduled power interruptions or disruptions due to technical reasons. All this is being done to improve Karnataka’s image and rating. Extensive work on the Systematic Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) is being done.
These two measure the frequency and duration of outages per annum. They show the reliability and performance of Escoms. If their number is high, the performance of the escom is termed not good as it reflects on their services. So all efforts are being made to ensure that both are few,” a senior energy department official said on Thursday.
Though the department does not want to use the term, from a consumer’s perspective, it is a simple power cut and there is no difference. It shows the gaps and their lack of technical expertise. Assessments show there are losses (financial and electricity related) which are not being accurately addressed and accounted for. A detailed audit of this is also required, said an official from the state load dispatch centre.
There are many reasons for power outages. It could be due to line clearance issues, weather conditions, technical glitches, overload, ongoing station works and so on.
Officials from the department said exercises are also being done to ensure the image of the department among consumers is good and there is no scope for private firms to enter the power sector.
“We are looking at providing good services. There is accountability. There is no need for private firms to come to the state market. For this, we are working on improving our SAIFI and SAIDI. At present, we are on par with cities such as Hyderabad. But a lot more still needs to be done,” they said.