We are thankful for your support in the activities of ITMA and hope your patronage will continue for further growth in the business of transformer and allied industries. Besides, readers, colleagues and friends are requested to share with us any news/ report or suggestions they may consider appropriate for reproduction in the news letter. Further ITMA is pleased to inform you that it has shifted its secretariat office from Zamrudpur, New Delhi to New Building of Ansal Plaza, at NCR, Ghaziabad at the following address:

Indian Transformer Manufacturers Association [ITMA]
2F CS-11, Ansal Plaza, Sector-3,
Near Vaishali Metro Station
(Opp. Bhushan Steel]
Vaishali, Ghaziabad-201010, U.P
Phone: 0120-4566119, Telefax: 0120-4116651
E-mail: itma_2006@airtelmail.in / info@itma.co.in
Web: www.itma.co.in

The above address may kindly be noted in your office records
for all future correspondence etc.

ITMA’s new office is fully furnished on modern style with super area over 2000 Sq.ft. and is equipped with multipurpose well designed hall for conducting Council Meetings, Board Meetings, Training Programme/ Workshops/ Corporate Events, Audio-Visual Presentations etc. with all e-facilities for 30 members. Executive Council took a decision to offer the office facilities to our ITMA members at nominal charges. Besides, there are couple of good hotels available in the close proximity of the office where corporate rates could be arranged for ITMA members.

B. LAL
DIRECTOR GENERAL

About a quarter century ago Transmission & Distribution losses used to be a bandied term which has been
conceptualized as aggregate Technical and commercial losses ( AT & C ). Earlier commercial losses were considered to
be nominal of order 1 to 2% primarily due to metering & billing problems. But now the commercial losses is a menace
caused by theft of electricity by unregistered consumers more often than not with connivance of unscrupulous
SEBs/Utilities staff and politicians. Such like situation entail into all types woes of consumers for increase of electricity
bills, over loading, break down of supply, shortage of power, load shedding, affecting quantity & quality of supply
besides other problems of billing and rude behavior of staff etc. The result is that the honest consumer is burdened with
higher tariff to off-set the losses.
Although the process of liberalization was started in 1990′s but the revival of financial health of the power sector
remained a distant dream. It appears that the cancer of theft of electricity which afflicted the sector about 35 years ago
will not easily go unless drastic surgical measures are adopted and exemplary punishment given to the guilty.
It is known that while advanced countries contain electricity losses up to 5 %, developing nations are content with 10%
which are made of technical and commercial losses (including theft). Unfortunately in our country the total losses
account for 30-35% as of today and even beyond. Probable breakup of losses may be as: EHV network 0.5% subtransmission
2.0%, 11KV system 5%, LV 7.5%, commercial 2% =17% + theft (18% or so). These losses can be reduced
with consistent efforts by balancing the loads on distribution lines and transformers, taking out more feeders for better
voltage profile, installation of capacitors at all levels for reactive compensation etc. At least the technical losses (7 %) can
be brought down with persistent efforts by utility engineers.
From the above it would be observed that at least 7% Technical losses including commercial can be reduced and India
should be content with 11% losses which can be reckoned within tolerable limits for Indian system.
The history of losses is that these were within acceptable limits in the system up to mid 1970s, but started rising due to
pilferage in 1980s, and climbing up steeply in 1990s with mass scale theft in domestic, commercial, industrial and
agriculture sectors and assumed monstrous dimensions of 60% in some of the states with all India average of 50% in the
late 1990s and early 2000s. As a result alarm bells started ringing, Regulatory Act 1998, Electricity Conservation Act
2001 and New Electricity Act 2003 were enacted by repealing the old Acts. National Electricity and tariff Policies,
distribution reforms-APDRP/RAPDRP & RGGVY schemes formulated and implementation started to reduce losses in
order to improve the health of utilities and finally the losses figure has come down from 50 to 35% in a span of 10 years
which is too below the expected figures of 15%
In a bid to find ways and means to reduce losses the planning commission constituted two separate expert committees
under Mr. B. K. Chaturvedi (Member–Planning Commission) and Mr. V.K. Shunglu (Ex comptroller and Audit General)
who made recommendations elaborating divergent rather diagonally apposite views to achieve the end results. Mr.
Chaturvedi professed for public private partnership model while Mr. V.K. Shunglu favoured for franchise model. Both
models are contradictory and the authorities are in dilemma to choose between the two. Of course, both have merits
and demerits. But the fact of the matter is that common acceptable recommendations for introduction as viable reforms
have to be evolved otherwise the accumulated losses which are at present around 80,000 crores till 2010 are likely to
jump up to 1.2 lacs crores in another 3 to 4 years period. So it is necessary the losses which are being incurred for the last
many years are arrested.
The experts committees are recommending to put entire burden of losses on consumers so as to make all the utilities self
sustaing to function in a financially viable manner thereby giving cue to regulators to agree reasonably to hike the power
tariff which in fact becomes in line with recent order of appellate tribunal for electricity mandating distribution
companies to make petition to respective regulator for tariff revision every year. Average calculation are that the losses
of Rs. 28000 crores per year are due to difference of about Rs. 0.60 per unit gap between average cost of generation and
average revenue realized.
The confusion of the two reports can be easily solved by Ministry of Power through CEA its apex body. It would be
advisable that the technocrats should be assigned such studies and not the journalist. Besides losses, there are other
problems being faced by the power sector which needs to be addressed.
Under such circumstance, it is imperative that all the Utilities should have a plan to reduce the Technical Losses in the
phased manner so that part of the burden of losses in overcome. Merciless action is required for theft of electricity
In case Government of India is able to completely eliminate theft of electricity rest of the problems affecting power sector
shall get automatically solved and utilities will not require colossal financial support for Generation Transmission and
Distribution of Electricity and the consumers shall get satisfied when better services in respect of reliability, quality and
quantity of power is afforded to them at a reasonable cost.
EDITOR

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The committee decided on the following options for gainful utilization of the
vacant office at Zamrudpur.

a) To rent out the accommodation for minimum period of two years (24
months)

It has been decided that the office accommodation may be given on rent preferably to ITMA members who is desirous of having office in Delhi. The
market rent for the accommodation (based on super area) works out to Rs. 50,000/per month + One Month advance with two months Security [Rs. 50,000/+ 1,00,000/= one time Rs. 1,50,000/]. The renter has to provide two sureties of ITMA members, that the vacant possession of the

ITMA office space shall be handed over back within 90 days in a good
condition after the service of notice in writing or verbal to the renter.
Further liability of Electricity, Water and other local maintenance charges
shall be disburse by the renter.

At present the office has furniture with two cabins, two ACs and stand by
generator but needs makeover according to the needs of the renter. Any
internal structural changes could be allowed subject to permission of
ITMA.

b) Outright sale of the accommodation

The normal rate of super area in the southern part of Delhi is about Rs
1700021000 per Sq. Ft.. It has therefore been decided that lump sum
minimum value of the office accommodation at Zamrudpur be kept at
Rs. 75,00,000/subject to minor negotiations. Any additional liability
shall be on purchaser’s account.

The above decisions of the Committee are circulated to the ITMA members for
exercising any of the above options, if they so desire.
Please intimate by 30th April 2012 positively by mail to ITMA Ghaziabad office for
any of the above options. [ itma_2006@airtelmail.in]

DIRECTOR GENERAL