BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company is modernising itself to meet the challenges of changing technology and innovation and to keep itself updated.
In its attempts, the BESCOM has formed a special cadre and organisation structure for IT and Smart Grid and at the same time it is planning to extend its pilot project of installing pre paid meters to other parts of the city, started in eastern and southern division in December 2014.
A senior BESCOM official said, “New Cadre for IT and Smart Grid will enable BESCOM to effectively implement, plan and execute better initiatives in future whereas the pre paid metering will help to plug revenue leakage for the company.”
Pre-paid Meter Scheme
This is a first-of-its-kind project being implemented by a public power utility company and it will assist in controlling a lot of revenue leakage being incurred in terms of over-loading and pilferage.
In one year, the project has been quite successful and 3,425 meters have been installed under the scheme at many places in five sub divisions of the southern and eastern divisions under the jurisdiction of BESCOM extending from MG Road to Indiranagar and IT hub of Mahadevpura.
Narasimha Pandit, BESCOM executive engineer, who is overseeing the project, said, “We have outsourced the work of installing meters to a private company, Supermax Components. The new meters consist of a self managed system with a software and a smart card, which can be recharged for pre-payment.”
The system will help the power distribution utility to plug revenue losses in terms of over loading and pilferage.
In one year, the power distribution utility has earned approximately `5.8 crore from its pre-paid meters, including penalty amount of Rs 1.2 crore from the southern and eastern division, said Narasimha Pandit.
Officials said that if the pre-paid metering system is implemented throughout the city, it will help the power utility to save around Rs 15 crore being paid for meter reading. It will also help generate better revenue from temporary connections.
The IT-brigade
It will help the power utility company to build a cohesive technical workforce to handle critical in house function, training and career growth for employees. This brigade will be in place by second week of February, 2016.
The New IT and Smart Grid Organisation structure will have a cadre of around 40 per cent hired from market on contract for a period of three years with a provision to extend by another two years and 60 per cent being internal cadre. This brigade will also help the company fight cyber-attacks.
“BESCOM internal cadre will be hugely benefited by gaining required knowledge in technical areas by working and interacting with the external hires,” said General Manager, IT, BESCOM.
Over a period of five years, it’s expected that BESCOM’s internal cadre would have acquired enough expertise and competence through rigorous training and working along with external hires so that internal candidates can account for over 90 per cent of the cadre.
For senior leadership positions to be outsourced in the IT and Smart Grid Cadre, BESCOM has invited applications from senior professionals in IT industry, senior managers in utilities and academicians with similar leadership experience on contract for a period of three years with a provision to extend by another two years.
The positions are of Chief General Manager (Digital), GM (Information and Communication Technology) and GM (Planning).
The request for proposal documents for the above three positions are to be outsourced.