Having worked for the Electricity Department in the early 80s, I know of some
of the problems that the Department had to endure.
There are a lot of hurdles that will have to be crossed to achieve what Dr.Antao
has envisaged for Goa. Many competent and talented Engineers are at the helm, but
the process of sanctioning and implementation is a rather arduous one. Months used
to go by in obtaining monetary sanctions from the Government. Almost every file had
to go right up to the Chief Minister's office!
I think the present Chief Electrical Engineer, T.H.Rao is a very competent and efficient person.
Then he used to be an Executive Engineer, having just returned from an overseas stint.
With respect to manpower and equipment, there are many things that are not in order. I think that there are more clerical folks than technical!
Prior to Goa's becoming a State, DGS&D used to be the agency that acquired
equipment for the Electricity Department. Corrupt as it was, the agency used
to inspect and approve substandard material right from an insulator to a huge
transformer or circuit breaker. Nearly 50% of the equipment supplied, used to
be damaged or below standards. Faulty equipment meant more breakdowns,
more failures. Faulty meters meant erroneous readings. Replacing all the defective
equipment is beyond imagination.
Pilferage - The meters were not tamperproof, nor was there trained manpower
to enfore laws against pilferage. The poor meter-reader has his hands full covering
vast areas. Many people used to draw more power than they were entitled to.
In rural areas, local electricity dept. folks were apt at giving illegal power connections.
In short corruption is part of the problem.
Because of heavy pilferage and faulty meters both at the domestic and commercial
levels, the losses used to be quite heavy. Facts and figures got manipulated.
Political patronage is one other aspect. People 'with influence', got better equipment
and better voltage. Politicians have always been keen on 'inaugurating' transformers
and having a plaque with their names next to it. The only time things were looking
good due to political pressure, was during the CHOGM meet in Goa, in 1983. A lot
of money was spent on the infrastructure, but I don't think there was proper
maintenance thereafter.
Training-- There is definitely insufficient training. A helper, who holds the ladder
graduates to lineman! The linemen don't have proper tools or safety gear, as is
seen in developed countries. It is a mockery of sorts to see a man in hawaii
chappals climb up the ladder to fix a broken wire! Many have been electrocuted
due to insufficient training and inadequqte safety measures in place.
Special equipment to work on lines when they were 'hot' was lacking. It had to
be imported from overseas and the Dept went through the exercise of getting
the Foreign exchange sanctioned, every year, without much success.
Vehicles-- There were not enough vehicles to go around to attend to faults. I have
even seen some of the helpers carrying ladders on bicycles in the city of Panjim!
And yet, top officials used to use vehicles to ferry themselves and their staff on
lunchbreaks! In the west, just one person driving his well-equipped truck with a
hydraulic lift, is able to come and fix problems. Then again, he/she works with
excellent products.
Maharashtra and Karnataka used to supply the electricity and whenever they
had loadshedding conditions, Goa was the one to suffer. Whatever revenue shortfalls
Maharashtra or Karnataka Electricity Boards endured, got passed on to Goans.
There is definitely no quickfix to all the woes. A concerted effort without political
interference, is a must. Even if there is surplus power, as Dr. Antao mentions, to
transform the entire network into something on the lines of Bombay/Mumbai,
will take a lot of time and money. Dr. Antao mentions the 'defeatist' attitude of
the Electricity Department officials; I think that the Engineers at the helm certainly
know what exactly they are dealing with!
Nagesh Bhatcar [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Goa’s Electricity Woesby Brian Antao, Ph.D
Goa claims to be having a surplus in Electric power that it is selling to other states at a good margin of profit. Yet people in the state <<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> power supply, surely "Where there is a will there is a way" to ensuring that the entire state of Goa too has good uninterruptible electric power!
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