20 hours of power supply in a day : Chief Minister at the helm
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 17, 2012 -

CM inaugurating the 33/11 KV sub-station at Namrei, Ukhrul on January 16 2010 :: Pix - TSE

Cometh the moment, cometh the man ? The first point that Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh made moments after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the third time in a row was to better the dismal power situation in the State.

Twenty hours of power supply in a day of 24 hours, is the target that the Chief Minister had said, while interacting with media persons after the swearing in ceremony.

The developments thereafter have been interesting. For the first time, in the last ten years at least, the Chief Minister has decided to keep the key Power portfolio under him.

This sends out a signal that he is ready and willing to be at the helm of affairs and is not ready to entrust this important task to any of his Cabinet colleagues.

The pre-paid system has been introduced in Paona Keithel and Thangal Keithel and while this is no doubt an innovative step taken up by the State Government, the results have been rather mixed.

While power consumption is reported to have dropped appreciably in the two commercial areas where the pre-paid system has been implemented, other places where this system has not been implemented have had to face drastic power cuts. It is easy to understand this.

By its very definition, the pre-paid system entails the consumers having to pay for the service before it is delivered and hence have to be more judicious about the units of power they consume.

Many of the pre-paid consumers would have gone in for the high-tech CFL and LED bulbs, which emit enough light but consume very little energy and hence the drop in consumption.

So while a 40 watts tube light was necessary to decently light up a room, an 8 watt LED bulb delivers the same. Impact of technology on economising power consumption.

On the other hand, since pre-paid consumers are assured delivery for the money already paid, it means putting a strain on the areas where this system has not been implemented as the State's share of power received from power corporations remains the same. These are some of the interesting developments that have been witnessed after the 20 hour of power supply target set by the Chief Minister.

So far, so good but can these steps be enough ? The Chief Minister obviously does not think so and hence the corporatisation process of the Power Department.

The question of whether this will yield any positive results or not still lies in the realm of speculation, but it stands true that the very idea of turning the Power Department into a Corporation is an admission that the existing system will not be able to deliver the goods.

Acknowledging this is undoubtedly a positive step, for it remains that to tackle any issue, the first point is to acknowledge that there is an issue to be tackled and the Chief Minister has demonstrated this to a certain extent. However it is also important to really understand what a corporation is all about.

A company or a large group of companies is the one line definition of a corporation and it cannot be interpreted in isolation of the conventional understanding of a corporate house.

In its essence this means the Power Department will no longer be run or managed like a Government entity but will function as a corporate house, where business will be the de riguer.

Independent of Government funding, a corporation will be expected to generate its own income, maintain its assets and manage it like a huge corporate house, where the defining line will be the output, which will generally be seen and understood as the ability to make profit.

Before the actual transition from a Government Department to a corporation completes its full circle, the rudiments have to be put straight.

This is where the biggest challenge may lie, but if it is pursued with the intensity and single minded purpose that is required then there is every chance of this transition to a corporation being the answer to the dismal power situation here.

The motive should be clear and there should be no ambiguity behind this ambitious step. Manipur has suffered enough all these years and something has to give.