Date:03/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/03/stories/2005080300520200.htm

Back REL announces Rs 100-cr disaster management plan — To restore supply within 24 hours

Our Bureau

NO NEGLIGENCE ON OUR PART: Mr Anil D. Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Energy Ltd, addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. The company, which came in for flak for cutting power supply, announced a Rs 100-crore disaster management plan to cope with future natural calamities. — Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai , Aug. 2

RELIANCE Energy (REL) on Tuesday announced a Rs 100-crore disaster management plan to cope with future natural calamities. The company said that it would restore power supply to all residential customers within 12 to 24 hours, and to all commercial customers within the next 48 hours.

The company recently received notices from the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) and the State Revenue Department seeking explanation for cutting power supply to some parts of the suburbs during the recent rains.

The company will replace all damaged electricity meters free of cost and will also replace 100 damaged transformers, most of them in the suburbs of Kurla, Saki Naka, Kalina, Chunabhatti and Goregaon, said Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of REL, at a news conference here on Tuesday at the company's headquarters in Santa Cruz.

(Even as the conference was on, there were several agitated customers, including a group of housewives arguing with the security guards outside the building complaining that they had had no electricity for nearly a week.)

In the long run, the height of transformers will be raised to over eight feet, said Mr Ambani. The disaster plan will also be focussed on safety, reliability, and back up of network, he said.

Already 50 transformers are on their way from Delhi and another 35, ordered from two vendors in Maharahstra, will arrive tomorrow, he added.

"The events of the last two weeks were neither predicted not was there any adequate preparation done by our city," Mr Ambani said. He strongly defended the decision of REL to cut power supply saying it was in the interests of safety.

"There was no negligence and no lapse," (on the part of the company) he said. "The challenges may have been underestimated by the system and I am very much part of the system," he added, responding to a question on who was to blame for the state of affairs in the city last week.

Over 23.65 lakh of the total 24 lakh REL customers have power supply as of today, he pointed out.

The company has mobilised additional contingents of 300 engineers and equipment from other REL locations in the country, as well as from companies such as Ahmedabad Electricity Company to tackle the situation, he said. (The Maharashtra Government officials said that some officials from its State electricity outfits too, would be sent to REL to address the situation in Mumbai).

Officials from REL have already met with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said Mr Ambani. The company will present three progress reports daily; these will be sent to the CM, the regulator MERC and to other concerned functionaries, he said.

As for damage and losses to REL itself, he said that the company has a comprehensive policy and will put out its insurance claims then. There will be no dent in the company's financials. "It has a market cap of Rs 12,000 crore and is a debt-free company," he added.