‘Achchhe Din’ have Arrived in Kota, Bharatpur & Bikaner! Seamless Power Distribution to All, a courtesy of CESC, Kolkata…
Precisely one year back, CESC Ltd. (Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation), a private Kolkata-based company won the power distribution franchise license for Rajasthan. Sanjiv Goenka’s flagship company agreed to set up power distribution units of Jaipur Vidyut Vitaran Nigam in Kota and Bharatpur. They aimed to form two special purpose vehicles for power transmission in the desert state. The company, while keeping an eye on their target, successfully distributed electricity to four lakh consumers in three cities, namely Bikaner, Bharatpur, and Kota. This grand success came around their first anniversary, a pleasant surprise for the owners!
Mr. Sanjeev Gupta (Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group), thrilled by achieving the 20-year license from Rajasthan government utility, commenced their operations in August 2016. Back then, the company had set a target of investing Rs 150 crores for operating the franchise. The owners expected a yearly turnover of Rs 740 crores from their investments.
Needless to say, they accomplished their goals pretty soon. The Kota distribution franchise, spread over an area of 150 square kilometers turned out to be the fastest growing unit. It distributed power to more than 1.76 lakh registered consumers via 314 high-tension lines. In last one year, their T&D losses stood at 29.71% whereas the customer base grew 7%.
On the other hand, the Bharatpur unit, spread over a distance of 50 square kilometers, grew 2.5 per cent. It supplied electricity to 47,641 registered consumers and reported T&D losses of 27.43 per cent.
According to the CESC management, they adopted new ‘automated’ technologies for distribution, new connections, and AC connections to smoothen out the transmission process. The Bharatpur unit soon followed after!
A spokesperson for the company revealed that the three units are already catering to the requirements of four lakh consumers in Rajasthan. The current peak load of the power distributors is 371 MW, which is expected to grow further. Having introduced a new format for computerized, computer-friendly billing, the KEDL (Kota Electricity Distribution Limited) has shown considerable improvement. It set an example in terms of the quickest franchise take over.
It seems that the much-awaited ‘Achhe Din’ has arrived in Kota, Bharatpur, and Bikaner, at least. The government is expected to reproduce these results in other parts of the state, as well.
