126
CHAPTER – IV
AP EASTERN POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LIMITED (APEPDCL): A BIRDS EYE-VIEW
Introduction
Power is one of the prime movers of economic development. The level of
availability and accessibility of affordable and quality power is also one of the
main determinants of the quality of life. The Government has, since
Independence, been giving priority to this sector while fixing the Plan outlays. As
a result, the installed generation capacity has risen from a mere 1,300 megawatt
(MW) at the time of Independence to more than 1,00,000 MW today. Along with
the growth in installed generation capacity, there has also been a phenomenal
increase in the transmission and distribution (T&D) capacity. However, despite
these achievements, the power sector has not kept pace with the growth in
demand with the result that the country has always faced energy and peaking
shortages.
India is the fifth largest producer of electricity in the world and according to
the Planning Commission, while the State Governments account for 51.5% of the
total generation capacity, the central sector and the private sector account for
33.1% and 15.4% of the generation capacity respectively. In line with the
respective power generation share, while the government sector (both central
and state) have contributed 85.5% of the total capacity addition of 45,295 MW
during 1999-00 and 2008-09, the private sector has contributed the balance
127
14.5%, almost at par with its share in the total installed capacity in the country.
Transmission of power is entirely looked after by government utility companies
and distribution too barring a few states are in the hands of the government
entities. India’s current installed power generation capacity as on 30th June, 2009
is at 1,50,324 MW as against 89,103 MW during 1997-98 and 1,32,329 MW at
the end of March, 2007. In addition to this, the captive power capacity has been
pegged at over 24,000 MW at present.
Andhra Pradesh
The state of Andhra Pradesh is situated in the South Eastern part of India
spreading over an area of 275, 045 Sq Km. It has a population of 73 millions of
which 73% live in rural areas. About 35% of the state’s domestic product comes
from primary sector (i.e.) agriculture, forestry etc., 19% from secondary sector
(manufacturing sector) and 45% from tertiary sector (services sector). The per
capita electricity consumption in the state is about 470 KWh per annum in
FY1999.
Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (APSEB)
APSEB was formed in the year 1959 and is responsible for all the three
functions of the power sector, namely, generation, transmission and distribution
of power. There are a number of rural electric cooperatives also functioning as
supply licensees in the state. Besides generating power from its own power
plants APSEB procures power from central sector generating stations, other
128
states, joint venture power plants and more recently from the private sector since
1995. The entry of private sector into power generation was facilitated by the
Central government under a liberalized policy announced in 1991.
APSEB – Growth over the 4 decades: APSEB witnessed stupendous growth
during the last four decades. The present installed capacity is 7341 MW
comprising of 5612 MW of its own capacity, 897 MW of share from central sector,
273 MW from joint sector and 560MW from private sector. The peak demand met
in 1998-99 was 6480 MW. The length of T&D lines is of the order of 608000 KM
of which EHV lines (220 KV & 132 KV) comprise of 18783 CKM. The total
number of consumers is about 11millions of which 1.8 millions are agricultural
consumers.
Operational performance of APSEB’s Power Plants: APSEB’s power plants
made a name for themselves for their enviable performance. The thermal
stations are noted for their high PLFs year after year. The average PLF during
1998-99 was 77.64% which is the highest in the country.
Power Sector Reforms in Andhra Pradesh
Present power sector reforms are being taken up in the background of the
unauthorized in process that started in 1991 at the national level (when Congress
party was in power) as a precondition to the IMF/WB bail out of India from the
balance of payments (BOP) problem. Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board
(APSEB) was formed in the year 1959 and is responsible for all the three
129
functions of the power sector, namely, generation, transmission and distribution
of power. There are a number of rural electric cooperatives also functioning as
supply licensees in the state. Besides generating power from its own power
plants APSEB procures power from central sector generating stations, other
states, joint venture power plants and more recently from the private sector.
APSEB was the key power utility in the state of Andhra Pradesh and had a
monopoly in the power sector under the overall guidance of the State
government. Apart from its own generation capacity of 5612 MW, APSEB was
drawing 885 MW capacity from the Central sector generating stations and around
940 MW of IPP & other private sector plants.
Every element in a power system offers resistance to power flow and
consumes some energy while allowing current to flow through it. The cumulative
energy consumed by all these elements is termed as Technical Loss. The
distribution system in developing countries suffers from the problem of low
voltage and high energy loss. The problem of the losses and voltage drop in
distribution feeders dependent on each other and varies with the pattern of
loading on the feeders. Total transmission and distribution losses are about 40-
50%. The major part of the loss is taking place only in distribution sector which
accounts for 80-90% of total T&D losses. Cost of power theft is Rs 20,000 Crores
/ year and the total loss incurred by all State Electricity Boards is Rs 26,000
Crores per year in India.
130
In India, there are forty power distribution companies in various states and
Union Territories supplying power. As on March, 2005 the total transformer
capacity of the distribution utilities is 330,829 MVA and total distribution line
length of the forty distribution utilities is 6,081,878 km. Total electricity
consumption is 381,359.5 Million Unit. To reduce the losses and to improve the
system efficiency, a policy has been made [1]. The Policy initiatives for
Distribution Reforms are aimed at system up-gradation, loss reduction
(aggregate technical and commercial losses), theft control, consumer orientation,
commercialization, decentralized distributed generation and supply for rural
areas, introducing competition [2]. Power losses of primary distribution system
shall be between 3-5%. The maximum limits of voltage variation at the customer
premises as per the Indian Electricity Rule are +6% and -9% at high voltage and
±6% at low voltage.
Evolution of Reform Process in AP
Present power sector reforms are being taken up in the background of the
unauthorized in process that started in 1991 at the national level (when Congress
party was in power) as a precondition to the IMF/WB bail out of India from the
balance of payments (BOP) problem. According to the government, financial
problems of APSEB/APTRANSCO surfaced as early as 1990-91 when subsidy
from State Government was required. Between 1990-91 and 94-95, the Board
could achieve the 3% rate of return, as required under the Electricity (Supply) Act
1948, through a variety of adjustments. It was only from 95-96 onwards that the
131
government has actually provided relief to APSEB by writing off loans etc. It can
be seen that the annual deficits of APTRANSCO have been rising during the last
few years. The main reasons for this are explained below:
1. Changing Hydro –Thermal Energy Mix over time. Hydel power is cheaper
than thermal power. Until recently installed capacity of hydel power is
more than thermal power. In 1960-61 while hydel power accounted for
58.2% thermal power accounted for 41.8%. In 1990-91 installed capacity
of hydel power was 50.1% and that of thermal power is 48%. In 1997-98
hydel power capacity stood at 36.5% and thermal power capacity stood at
42.9%. Remaining power capacity is in gas projects. As the proportion of
cheaper hydel power declines and the proportion of costly thermal power
increases average unit cost of power increases.
2. Change in Load Mix: With steadily increasing demand from the agricultural
sector disparity between agricultural and industrial tariff was steeply
increasing over the years and was causing pressure on the industrial
sector, leading to stagnation in industrial consumption as industry moved
towards cheaper captive generation.
3. No reliable data for energy audit and estimation of losses: The major
portion of the agricultural consumption is not metered. The technical
losses are on account of power consumed by the system in Transmission
and Distribution of electricity. The non-technical losses are due to theft of
power. Theft of energy has become rampant and assumed alarming
proportions threatening the very viability of Power Sector. In order to
132
initiate effective steps to reduce the losses, it is important that realistic
levels of losses are determined.
4. Unauthorized connections: A large number of consumers resort to
unauthorized withdrawal of power.
In the background of the deteriorating situation on the power front, the
then state government of Andhra Pradesh contemplated to restructure the power
sector. As a first step it constituted a high level committee under the
chairmanship of Hiten Bhaya, a former chairman of Central Electricity Authority,
to suggest reforms to be introduced in the power sector. This committee was
constituted in January 1995 and submitted its report in June 1995. The important
proposals made by the Hiten Bhaya committee include:
Fixing of tariff structure to cover production costs,
Separate generation, transmission and distribution activities and keep
them in the hands of different companies,
Keep these companies as subsidiaries of APSEB,
Run them on commercial lines,
Privatise power distribution companies gradually,
Retain the Board only as a holding company in charge of long-term sector
planning, supervision and co-ordination of the subsidiaries,
Monitoring of reform implementation and provision of policy advice to be
with the government,
Setting up a regulatory commission to fix tariff structure, keeping licensing
powers with the state government.
133
Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO)
APGENCO is the GoAP-owned generation utility in the State and is
primarily engaged in generation of power, apart from other activities. The
organisation was carved out of the erstwhile APSEB and currently it owns and
operates a total of 6581 MW of generating capacity comprising of about 2982.5
MW of thermal capacity and about 3588.4 MW of hydel capacity. All its
generation plants are located within the State. The entire power generated by
APGENCO is exclusive for consumption within the state.
Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APTRANSCO)
APTRANSCO is the GoAP-owned transmission utility in the State and is
engaged in transmission of power within the State. The Organisation is
incorporated under Companies Act, 1956. APTRANSCO was notified as State
Transmission Utility (STU) under Electricity Act, 2003 and as such is the nodal
agency at state level for all transmission related activities. Till recently, the
Organisation was engaged in bulk supply business (buying and selling of power)
and due to prevailing legal requirements, the same was divested in favour of
distribution companies with effect from June 9, 2005.
AP Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL)
APCPDCL is a GoAP owned distribution licensee and operates in the
central part of the State. The Organisation is registered under the Companies
Act, 1956 and supplies power to various consumers located in Medak,
134
Rangareddy, Nalgonda, Mahaboobnagar, Kurnool and Anantpur districts. The
corporate office and headquarters of the Organisation is located in Hyderabad.
On operational front, the Organisation operates in about 86,800 Sq. KM of area
with a consumer base of about 5.22 Million.
AP Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (APNPDCL)
APNPDCL is a GoAP owned distribution licensee and operates in the
northern part of the State. The Organisation operates is registered under the
Companies Act, 1956 and supplies power to various consumers located in
Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts. Corporate
office of the Organisation is situated at Warangal city. On the operational front,
the Organisation operates in an area of about 66,760 Sq. Km with a consumer
base of about 2.86 Million.
AP Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL)
APSPDCL is a GoAP owned distribution licensee and operates in the
southern part of the State. The Organisation is incorporated under the
Companies Act, 1956 and supplies power to retail consumers located in Chittor,
Cuddapa, Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts. Corporate office of
the Organisation is located at Tirupati city. On operational front, the Organisation
operates in an area of about 81024 Sq. KM with a consumer base of about 4.06
Million.
135
AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL)
APEPDCL is a GoAP owned distribution licensee and operates in the
eastern part of the State. The Organisation is incorporated under the Companies
Act, 1956 and supplies power to retail consumers located in West Godavari, East
Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. The
headquarters of the Organisation is located at Visakhapatnam. On operational
front, the Organisation operates in an area of about 42, 101 KM with a consumer
base of about 2.82 million.
The advent of power reforms in the country, the Eastern Power
Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APEPDCL) was formed on the
31st of March, 2000, to serve as a Distribution Company of AP Transco.
APEPDCL, Visakhapatnam is the leading Indian power utility serving a consumer
136
base of over 4 million spread across five districts in the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh. It has always been a pioneer in delivering technology centric customer
care services to its customers. EPDCL has the lowest AT&C losses and one of
the best in terms of operational efficiency. APEPDCL is responsible for
undertaking distribution and bulk supply of power in the operation circles of
Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari districts
and 17 Divisions of Coastal Andhra Pradesh. APEPDCL supplies power to over
42 lakh consumers belonging to different categories through a network consisting
of 427 Sub-stations of 33 KV level, 1807 feeders of 11 KV level and more than
93,204 distribution transformers of different levels. The Corporate Office and
Headquarters of APEPDCL is situated at Visakhapatnam. Serving Style of the
APEPDCL are:
To ensure reliable, efficient and sufficient power supply to consumers.
To ensure a balanced all-round development of power infrastructure in
all circles of operation.
To ensure operational efficiency through managerial, functional
autonomy and technological up gradation.
To focus on customer care and customer service in all spheres of
activity, by maintaining good quality and cost-effectiveness in power
distribution.
137
Table 4.1 Details of APEPDCL’s Operations Statistical Data as on 31-03-10
SI No Details
1 Area in Sq. Km 42,086
2 Population(in Millions) 17.23
3 Connected Load (KW) 7028.40
4 Total No. of Services 44,75,679
5 Total No. of LT Services 44,73,755
a) No. of Domestic Services (Cat-1) 38,75,643
b) No. of Non-Domestic/Commercial Services (Cat-2) 33,5237
c) No. of Industrial Services (Cat-3) 28,359
d) No. of LT Cottage Industrial Services (Cat-4) 1,979
e) No. of Agricultural Services (Cat-5) 1,71,380
f) No. of Street light Services (Cat-6) 28,475
g) No. of General Purpose Services (Cat-7) 32,670
h) No. of Temp. Supply Services (Cat-8) 12
6 No. of HT Services 1,924
7 No. of Sub-stations
a) 220 KV 14
b) 132 KV 45
c) 33 KV 528
8 Length of Lines in Km
a) 220 KV 2005
b) 132 KV 2208
c) 33 KV 5241
d) 11 KV 34134
a) LT 68253
9 No. of Distribution Transformers 106154
a) Three Phase 76587
b) Single Phase 29567
Organization Chart
APEPDCL is led by a Chairman and Managing Director, appointed by the
Government of Andhra Pradesh, assisted by a Board of Directors. For details of
individuals occupying a post, click on the link below.
138
Key Achievements of APEPDCL
47 Nos. new 33/11 KV Sub-stations charged under JBIC & internal
funding with a total cost of Rs.65 Crs.
Augmentation of 78 Nos. Power Transformer capacities completed for 27
Crs.
8935 Nos. new DTRs charged for Rs 102 crs.
HVDS conversion completed covering 8,560 Nos. Pump sets with an
expenditure of Rs. 103 Crs.
DTR failures reduced to 1.29%.
Automatic meter reading of HT services and feeders in Vizag and
Vizianagaram circles is completed.
139
Repairs & Maintenance of existing network started in a drive mode with an
allocation of about Rs 20 Crs to further improve supply reliability and
customer delight besides technical loss reduction.
Segregation of Non Agricultural loads completed for 200 Nos rural feeders
to ensure 7 hrs. quality supply for agricultural consumers.
ISO 9001-2000 certification achieved for 5 Nos. Operation Divisions and
for corporate Office.
Call centers are standardized for enhanced customer satisfaction.
Any Time Payment (ATP) machines installed at 4 Nos. locations in
Visakhapatnam.
Bill payment through internet introduced.
Distribution of CFLs taken up under CDM and distribution completed in 2
sections for 20000 consumers in Visakhapatnam District.
Distribution losses reduced from 9.46% to 7.78% resulting in savings of 71
MU with a monitory savings of Rs. 24 Crs.
Line clear module integrated with Customer Service Centers to have quick
data of scheduled outages and interruptions.
IVRS facility introduced in Visakhapatnam city and a promotion campaign
launched to encourage max utilization
Feeder franchising implemented for 8 Nos. 11 KV feeders in tribal areas
Under RGGVY 1,86,824 Nos. Rural Households are electrified out of
which 1,58,542 Nos. are BPL beneficiaries, 251 Nos. Habitations were
electrified.
140
SAP implemented throughout APEPDCL.
Power Distribution in Simhachalam Region
APEPDCL has been in the forefront in reduction of Distribution Losses
and in ensuring customer delight which are also the key objectives of the Power
Sector Reforms. This has become possible by your dedicated efforts and
enthusiasium for continuous improvements. As per the latest Quarterly
performance research report of State Power utilities for the period of July-
September 2008 conducted by Power Finance Corporation EPDCL stands 1st in
having AT&C losses at 7%, Distribution Transformers failures at 0.5% and
collection efficiency at 100%.
Sale of Energy (MU)
Technical & Commercial Losses
141
Revenue Demand Versus Revenue Collections
On the Operational front we have taken up a large scale drive on R&M of
our lines and equipments to improve the quality of power supply and reduce
technical losses in the system. We have also taken up for installation of TYCO
``clamps for 10 nos. Sub-stations in Visakhapatnam which minimizes contact
resistance reduce Technical Losses and supply interruptions.
142
We have standardized the call centre operations and also IVRS
introduced in Siripuram call centre. In future centralized call centre with IVRS is
will be established at Siripuram call centre that can handle all the calls originating
from 5 districts for all complaints and service request including new service
connection. RAS (Revenue Assurance System) has been implemented in
Visakhapatnam Circle from December 2008 to streamline the billing system. RAS
will be extended to four Districts within short time. ISO implementation for all
offices in the Company is going on in full swing. With increased focus on Energy
Audit we replaced all non standard feeder meters with MRI compatible meters. In
order to reduce the work load the meter reading tasks both for feeders and high
value services are outsourced. Our key focus is to ensure that the Human
Resources are optimally utilized for the core improvements in the sector.
Automatic Meter Reading for feeders and HT services is rolled out to other
circles and the work is in progress. AMR tender is also in process for high value
services. Spot Billing Activity is getting streamlined after we brought in stringency
in the eligibility criteria and in the agreement conditions. SCADA system is being
streamlined by making the equipment SCADA ready for incorporating control
functions. An initiative is taken up 2 nos. existing SCADA sub-stations unmanned
and the process of finalization with ABB is in progress.
Customer Care Initiatives
Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited
(APEPDCL) is embarking on a drive to provide next generation of customer
143
services unheard of in the Indian power distribution sector. As part of this
initiative APEPDCL is launching a series of customer friendly services based on
its state-of-the-art centralized call center. Single number for all consumers: All
the calls made to 155333 from any where in the 5 districts of APEPDCL will land
at the centralized call center in Visakhapatnam. The call center is operated round
the clock throughout the year. Single number for all services: Customers can use
a single number (155333) to seek information, lodge complaints (including power
failure, billing, payments), inform about power theft, and register service requests
(including new service connection, title transfer, category change, load
enhancement requests) over phone.
Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS): An advanced IVR system
helps the customers to easily retrieve the required information, lodge complaints
and place service requests without the intervention of customer representatives
at the call center. Customer facilitation centers: If a complaint or service request
requires a fee to be paid to EPDCL or some documents to be submitted, the
complaint/request is registered and the caller is requested to visit the nearest
customer facilitation center by referring the registration number. All such
complaints/requests would be resolved as per the service levels defined by the
citizen charter, after the payment of fee and document submission. Door-step
services: If the customers do not have the time or convenience to visit the
customer facilitation centers, they can avail the door-step service at a nominal
charge. A messenger will be dispatched to customer premises to collect the fee
and documents and issue a receipt for the same.
144
References
Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) February 2002.
Consultative Paper on Long Term Tariff Principles.
Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board – 1996. Finances of APSEB
APERC Order on Load Forecast, July 2002
APERC Orders on PPAs of BPL, BSES-Andhra and RTPP, July 2002
Documents and notes of People’s Monitoring Group on Electricity Regulation,
Hyderabad.
Ghosh, Arun – 1997: Break-up and Privatisation of SEB in Andhra Pradesh: An
Upcoming Scam. Economic and Political Weekly - Vol.32, No.29
India Power Sector Reforms Update, Issue I (October 2001), Issue II (Jan 2002),
Issue III, (May 2002), Prayas, Pune. (Available at www.psiru.org and
www.prayaspune.org)
Murthy, K. Sreerama Chandra. 2001. Vidyuth Valayam. Lifeline Communications,
Hyderabad. 2001.
Power Line: Magazine on Power, New Delhi, Vol. 6, Issue 8-10 (May to July
2002)
Power News: Weekly News updates on Power, Power Line, New Delhi, May to
August 2002
Sankar, T.L. 2002. “Towards a People’s Plan for Power Sector Reform”,
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.37, No.40.
Several News Paper reports and Discussions with people working in the sector.
Submissions before APERC by Mr. K. Raghu, Associate President, APSEB
Engineers’ Association, Hyderabad
TERI Newswire: Fortnightly News abstracts on economy, energy and
environment, TERI, New Delhi, Volume 8, Numbers 8-16 (May to August
2002)
TERI Newswire: Fortnightly News abstracts on economy, energy and
environment, TERI, New Delhi, Volume 8, Numbers 8-16 (May to August
2002)
145
UPERC Power Diary, April 2002
Web site of Central Electricity Authority: www.cea.nic.in
Web site of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission:www.cercind.org
Web site of Ministry of Power: www.powermin.nic.in
Website of APERC: www.ercap.org
Website of APGENCO: www.apgenco.com
Website of APTRANSCO: www.aptranscorp.com
Website of OERC: www.orierc.org
Website of UPERC: www.uperc.org
Website of World Bank: www.worldbank.org.in
World Bank – 1997: Andhra Pradesh: Agenda for Economic Reforms, World
Bank – 1999: Project Appraisal Document on Andhra Pradesh Power
Sector Restructuring Programme. Report No. 18849 IN
Indian Electricity Act. 2003. Online available http://powermin. Nic.in/acts/
notifications / electricity.
Best practices in Distribution Loss reduction, Distribution Reform, Upgrades and
Management (DRUM) project training material Of USAID INDIA.
Available at http//www.usaid.com.
Feeders wise data supplied by Circle office, A.P.E.P.D.C.L, Visakhapatnam,
India.
M. Ramalinga Raju, K. V. S. Ramachandra Murthy and G. Govinda Rao. 2007,
“Audit Considerations in Obtaining Electrical Energy Consumption in
Agriculture Sector”, Energex-2007, Suntec Convention Centre,
Singapore. November. Pp. 27-30.
Roman A Gallego, A.J. Monticelli R. 2001, “Romero Optimal capacitor placement
in Radial Distribution Networks”. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.
Vol. 16, No. 4.
146
G. Carpinelli, C Noce, A. Russo and P. Varilone. 2005, “Trade off Methods for
Capacitor Placement in Unbalanced Distribution Systems”. International
Conf. on Future Power Systems. 16-18 November, Italy.
IEEE. 1991. IEEE Distribution Planning Working Group report, Radial Distribution
Test Feeders. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems. 6(3): 974-985.
J. D. Glover and M. Sarma. 1994. “Power System Analysis and Design”. 2nd
Edition, PWS publishing company, Boston, MA.
W. H. Kresting. Distribution Feeder Analysis Chapter-6. IEEE Tutorial course-
Power Distribution Planning, 92- EHO, 361-6-PWR.
Private Participation in Infrastructure published by The Secretariat for the
Committee on Infrastructure, Planning Commission, Government of India
– June, 2009
Report by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets on the Indian Power Sector published in
April, 2008
Report of Cygnus Business Consulting & Research Pvt. Ltd. – May 2009
Best Practices Guide, Implementing Power Sector Reform – USAID
Power – Crisil Research, March 2009
Fact Sheet: Background on Enron’s Dabhol Power Project – Committee on
Government Reform US House of Representatives – February 2002 Note
for Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure – August 20, 2009
Top Related