West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited

Sagar Island is the westernmost island of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta that lies at the mouth of the Hooghly River. It is located 100 km from Kolkata. Sagar Island falls under the jurisdiction of South 24 Pargana and is totally cut off from the mainland by Muriganga River. The total geographical area of the island is 286.03 sq. km. The locational disadvantage coupled with erratic climate change especially during the monsoon season turned out to be the major constraints in providing logistical support for continuance of essential services at Sagar Island. Sagar Island till recent times doesn’t have any facility with respect to grid electricity. Absence of power debilitates the economic growth of Sagar to a large extent. Sagar is deprived of some of the basic amenities e.g. healthcare, education, communication, electricity etc. whose cumulative effect triggers growth that diminishes poverty, generates employment, increases the per capita income and improves capital formation of the economy in aggregative terms. The importance of Sagar doesn’t only pivots around the mythological sage “Kapil Muni’s Ashram” and “Gangasaar Mela” where million pilgrims across the country swarm on the eve of Makar Sankranti but also to those teeming million who resides over there facing all odds with humility that transcends generation after generation.

Till recent times Sagar has only a limited number of domestic consumers and commercial utilities who are provided with electrical power from diesel generating (DG) sets for five hours each day supplemented with solar photovoltaic power plants supplied through WBREDA. Another step to contain the issue of Sagar Island’s energy starvation is through the implementation of Wind-Diesel Project consists of 10 wind generators of 50 kilowatts capacity each, two 180 kVA diesel generators and a controlling system but even if the project is implemented in its entirety it can cater to the need of only a handful of villages.

The total number of population in Sagar Island is about 2.26 lakh out of which only 2,178 people (around 220 households) have access to electricity and that too through DG sets. These statistics indicate that only a minuscule number of residents of Sagar Island have access to electric power. Number of commercial consumers is so abysmally low that it can’t be reckon with. At present number of commercial consumers are only 394. Taking into consideration the decadal growth from 2001 census the estimated population of the island will increase from 226,974 to 319,374 by 2017-18. This implies that there will be an ever increasing demand of power in the island. Only viable solution to this problem is to connect Sagar Island to grid power. The requirement of power is estimated at about 9.5 MW by 2017-2018.

In order to foster the spirit of inclusive growth at Sagar Island and to enhance the quality of life through augmentation of commercial activities, industrial activities, irrigation facilities, etc. West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) has been assigned the task of electrification of Sagar Island under the ICZM Project. WBSEDCL has come into being after restructuring of erstwhile West Bengal State Electricity Board in compliance of Electricity Act 2003. WBSEDCL is a major power utility of the state. It has been projected that the total financial outlay of this project component is `34.2450 crores which will be spread over in the successive 5 years. According to the initial projection it can be stated that all the prospective consumers of Sagar Island will start getting individual connection from the grid by 2012- 2013. This will contribute immensely towards qualitative improvement of the standard of living of the common citizenry at large. The present project has been conceived for electrification of all the 42 mouzas of Sagar Island with 100% household electrification work.

The Sagar Island’s electrification work has the following important components:

i)              Drawl of 33kv line from the existing 33/11 kV Kakdwip substation at Kakdwip up to Lot 8 river bank.

ii)             Crossing over river Muriganga through river crossing towers to Kachuberia on Sagar Island.

iii)            Drawl of 33kv line from Kachuberia up to Rudranagar substation.

iv)           The aforementioned works has already been completed. The construction of river crossing tower and stringing was undertaken by West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. (WBSETCL), whereas the construction of Rudranagar substation and drawl of 33 kV line from Kakdwip to Lot 8 and from Kachuberia to Rudranagar substation has been undertaken by WBSEDCL.

v)            The construction of substation has been completed as per the planned schedule of work. The Rudranagar substation has been made operationalized for catering to the energy requirements of the people of Sagar. The present project under ICZM Project covers drawl of 11 kV line from Rudranagar substation, drawl of LT line and the installation of distribution transformers at various location of Sagar Island to supply grid power 24X7 to all the potential consumers.

The Sagar electrification is going on in full swing with the sole objective of making the people of Sagar feel that they are not the estranged from their counterparts at the mainland when it comes in providing the basic infrastructural facilities to shore up the human development index. The above work was entrusted to the turnkey contractor named  M/s starling & Wilson Ltd with the work involvement: Drawl of HT line: 42 km trunk and 448 Km spur line, drawl of LT line: 3 phase 443 km, total number DTRs to be installed is 621 and 43000 household will have electrical connections.

Environmental and Social impact:

Implementation of this project is expected to bring enormous improvement in the environmental aspect of Sagar Island. The grid power has been made available to Sagar Island from October 2011 and consequently the DG operation has been phased out. Hence the CO₂, CH₄, SO₂, NO_X and other harmful exhaust gas emissions due to the operation of DG sets which are polluting the environment has been contained to a certain extent. This scheme has been proved useful not only for controlling greenhouse gas emission but also will provide a fresh impetus on the expansion of tertiary sectors apart from providing a fillip to the growth of the education system.

The other social benefits are as follows:

• Increase in river lift irrigation by using electric pump operated by grid power will contribute better cultivation.
• The continuous supply grid power will be used for preservation of fruits, vegetables, fish etc. resulting minimization of losses.
• Establishment of ice factory.
• Setting up of fruit processing units.
• Development of small scale units, commercial establishment, industries.
• Expansion of health care facilities.
• Improvement in education facilities.
• Rural employment generation as a cumulative effect after commissioning of this project.
• Better facilities can be provided to the sage Kapil Muni’s Ashram and Ganga Sagar Mela so that tourists can stay there not only for spiritual satiety but also for recreation which in a way trigger the process of generating newer avenues of employment.

Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Planning

At present only a limited number of consumers get power hence the plausibility service interruption is negligible until and unless some extraneous factors come into play. However WBSEDCL has been geared up to execute any kind of tasks in Sagar pertaining to both preventive and corrective maintenance as per its established norms.

 Preventive maintenance includes:

¨       Periodical trimming of tree branches near the lines.

¨       Maintenance of HT lines, distribution transformers, load balancing and other associated activities.

Besides this, restoration of supply in case different system outages shall be taken care of by WBSEDCL as a part of maintenance work.

With an increase in number of route length of electric lines and consumers, number of officials would be increased for Rudranagar Group Electric supply office on pro rata basis.

After implementation of the project, majority of the works under the scheme shall be outsourced either to the Self Help groups or to other agencies that have the requisite expertise in the aforementioned arena. Maintenance cost of the asset has been estimated as approximately INR 0.8 million per annum, which translates to almost 0.23% of Project cost.

WBSEDCL has started contemplating the idea as part of its corporate social responsibility program to utilize the services of the economically weaker sections of the society in Sagar Island. The objective of engaging the marginal populace through SHGs is to supplement their income, encouraging skill formation at the grassroots level, particularly among the womenfolk, exploring the opportunities of self-employment at rural area and encouraging the participation of rural people in the management of rural infrastructure by way of infusing a sense of ownership among them.

WBSEDCL intends to employ the services of the SHGs for streamlining the processes i.e.

a) Mobilization of consumers

b) Meter Reading

c) Delivery of Energy Bills to the consumers

Before engaging the SHGs, the members will be trained on the basic aspects of consumer mobilization and meter reading by WBSEDCL. The members will also be trained on the process of filling up of different forms required for consumer connection etc. These members will hence assist the local population to fill up the required requisite formats and to place their applications for new connections to WBSEDCL in a meticulous manner without any hassles. All the expenses pertaining to the activities to be undertaken by SHGs would be borne by WBSEDCL through its Public Participation Cell.

Subsequently, considering the provisions provided in Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. for Rajeev Gandhi Gramin Viduytikaran Yojna (RGGVY), it can be further decided to extend the scope of work depending on the performances of the SHGs at the second phase by incorporating:

a) Collection of Revenue

b) Minor maintenance work.

WBSEDCL realizes the importance for skill development of the members of the SHGs so that the entire stream of activities can be perpetrated in sync with the overall process panorama. WBSEDCL intends to solicit the assistance of a technical institute to impart training to build capacities of the SHGs engaged with WBSEDCL’s O&M tasks.

Disaster Management:

Sagar Island is cyclone prone area. So, while erecting the PCC poles and other equipment adequate protection has been taken in the design as well as in the implementation phase. The span of LHT (Line High Tide) pole and LLT (Line Low Tide) pole are designed at 60 M and 45 M respectively to withstand the effect of wind load and cyclone.

The Operation and Maintenance (O&M)  team exclusively dedicated for Sagar Island will combat disastrous situation as and when necessary, to maintain uninterrupted supply of power. Since it is not possible to provide any back up power to Sagar Island, the sole responsibility lies with the O&M team to manage the situation. The SHGs will also be utilized by the O&M team of WBSEDCL as and when such situation arises.

Projected Electricity requirement unto 2018:

On the basis of the 2001 census report, 10% population growth in each year has been assumed for the future projection. In addition 10 persons per family have been assumed. Present average domestic load is 140 kW per consumer and average commercial load is 620 kW per consumer. The electrification work will proceed in phases and initial trend shows that within the stipulated time frame the project can be declared as completed.

Projected Population, Consumer, Consumer Growth (BPL) at Sagar Island

Projected Growth of Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural and other Consumers