I-U-KAN (India
Utility Knowledge And Forum) is a broader umbrella for all Utilities (Power,
Water, Waste, Gas, Transport etc.) and all Stakeholders (Govt., Public
utilities, Private Operators, New entrants, Service Providers, Regulators,
NGOs, Investors, Customers) to analyse holistic gaps, exchange ideas, build
common grounds, and expedite the establishment of sustainable utilities in India.
In this, sustainability is defined in terms of 'three P's’ (i.e. Profit, People and
Planet) - so utilities to become Profitable (whoever runs it – Govt. or Private
co.); end-customers to get affordable, high quality Services and increased choices;
and production & consumption to be optimized for best Environmental
conservation.
But, why do we need such an all Stakeholder cross utility
platform? Is stakeholder engagement really an issue, and even if it is, then
does it have enough weight that it can act as bottleneck to all good efforts? Are
there lessons to be learnt from other utilities that can expedite reforms?
To truly figure out whether the various types of stakeholder engagement is missing (if any), let us use an example from the Power Distribution Utility.
1. Central Govt. to
Discoms:
R-APDRP, perhaps (in magnitude), holds the position as being one of the biggest infra investment project in the world. Although, the objectives and intentions were great, i.e. invest in Discoms (Distribution Company) to adopt measurements, automation and Technology to improve loss
reduction and enhance accountability. However, most experts would agree that it has not yielded the expected returns.
One major lacuna has been, missing capacity
building in the Discoms to effectively use new Infra, tools and right processes. One example is the wasted GIS Customer Indexing effort, which is the first
mandated activity for all utility projects. But, because of its inappropriate on-field execution and static nature, it hasn't yield much value in terms of any useful further integration into building strong CRM, and hence
timely Revenue Assurance strategies.
Heaps of Energy Audit reports are being compiled, without much care for scientific calibration of
metering equipments. And, even if that were to be correct, there is not much
measurement based decision making culture in our Indian Utilities. With these weak basic foundation blocks, and missing overall Performance Monitoring, the resulting architecture and operating system continues to remain weak, in spite of Technology influx.
2. Discoms to Private
Operators:
The need for increased efficiency in design, development and end-service delivery, huge private investment requirements, and higher accountability, to transform Indian utilities has called for big Change
Management. Different models and levels of privatization are being explored such as full privatization (Delhi model); Input Based Distribution Franchisee (Nagpur
model); Light capex O&M Franchisee model (Orissa).
However the most basic,
the Baseline information of the circle to be privatized (which includes, asset,
revenue, costing and other information) is not put up in a robust & credible
manner from Discom side. This has lead to irrational bidding, delayed closures,
and at times litigation and bid cancellation. And it's not the Discom alone to be
blamed, the winning private company at most times, is also not very transparent
with respect to its planning related to Capex investments, customer services and employee
deputation from Discom.
