Kottayam town has been included in the pilot project of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP), a prestigious scheme of the Union government. Works to the tune of Rs.23.89 crore will be taken up in Kottayam under the project, officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) have said.
The project is aimed at bringing about comprehensive reforms in the electricity distribution network in the country. Its major goal is to bring down the Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which include losses incurred during electricity transmission and theft, to below 15 per cent. The Rs.50,000-crore project is planned to be implemented in two phases.
In the initial phase, the State governments will be provided Rs.10,000 crore each as grants for computerisation of the existing system. Further financial assistances will be provided in the second phase for infrastructure development. Of this, half will be considered as grant and the remaining as loan.
The implementation of information technology in the first phase will be conducted in 43 urban centres of the State that have a population above 30,000 as per the 2001 Census. An amount of Rs.214.38 crore has been received as Central assistance for the computerisation. Guruvayur has also been selected for the pilot project from the State.
In Kottayam, the works will be implemented in the Kottayam Central, Kottayam East, Manarcad, Gandhinagar, and Nattakom section offices, all of which come under the Kottayam electrical circle. Officials have started collecting data of about 75,000 consumers, including houses and commercial establishments, coming under the circle.
The survey is expected to be completed within two months, following which all consumers will be brought within the ambit of the computerised network during the year, it is learnt. The consumers will then be able to pay their bills through the e-payment option, receive monthly bills, register grievances, and apply for new connections online.
Moreover, 11-kV power lines for 47.21 km have been laid in the areas coming under the Kottayam electrical circle prior to launching the project. An additional 56 transformers have been established and damaged electric lines for 20 km replaced.