Nodal officer nominated for privatisation of Power Department

Chandigarh, September 15

The authorities have nominated XEN Pawan Kumar Sharma as the nodal officer for privatisation of the UT Electricity Department.

An order issued by the office of the Superintending Engineer, Electricity Operation Circle, UT, stated that the Union Ministry of Power had decided to privatise the power distribution of all union territories.

As the process of privatisation of the Electricity Wing of the Engineering Department, Chandigarh (EWEDC), is targeted to be completed by December this year, the Superintending Engineer has decided to nominate XEN Pawan Kumar Sharma as the nodal officer to take action in all matters relating to the privatisation of the EWEDC, including tendering and coordination with various departments, with immediate effect.

The Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a Government of India undertaking, had recently appointed Deloitte, a private firm, as a consultant to prepare a comprehensive report on unbundling of the department.

The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had already issued directions to the UT Administration for restructuring and reformation of the department, which is mandatory as per the Electricity Act, 2003.

On privatisation, the department will become an autonomous body, which will be divided into the State Transmission Utility (STU) and the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC). The STU will be responsible for smooth transmission of power and the SLDC will be the main body to ensure integrated operation of the power system.