Unprecedented blackouts in June this year nearly brought the Capital to a standstill. All firefighting measures employed by discoms — particularly BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) — failed to work.

Four months later, an order passed by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission placed the blame squarely on BSES. Former BSES CEO Arun Kanchan had to step down and separate CEOs were appointed for BRPL and BYPL.

Speaking to Newsline, new BRPL CEO Gopal Saxena talked about measures being taken to ensure such a situation does not arise again.

In the aftermath of the June blackouts, executives at BSES drew up a list of reasons that led to unprecedented loadshedding. Among them was the failure to anticipate the sudden increase in power demand, the futility of the Power Purchase Agreements with other states and utilities that did not abide by the arrangements, and an inefficient redressal system. While Saxena refused to touch upon reasons that led to the situation, he spoke about a five-fold agenda to prepare for the future.

“To start with, I have created a special team to look at softwares that will help us anticipate the power demand in a more adequate manner. The team will work closely with other agencies that predict power demand, such as the Northern Region Power Committee and the State Load Despatch Centre,” Saxena said.

As temperatures soared in June, BRPL was caught on the backfoot, as the power supply prearranged for the period proved insufficient to meet the demand that touched an all-time high of 4,400 MW.

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