Hon’ble Chief Minister, Hon’ble Finance Minister, Hon’ble Minister of Energy, IT
and Culture, Chief Secretary, Development Commissioner, Energy Secretary,
Secretaries/ Principal Secretaries of different departments present,
representative of Consumer Forums, Distribution Licensees, representatives of
local bodies, Non-govt. organizations, Hon’ble Chairperson and Member of OERC,
Ex-Chairman and Members of OERC, Shri Vivek Pattanayak, Chairman, CESU
Management Board, Shri Arup Ghosh, Chief Operating Officer, North Delhi Power
Limited, Delhi, Shri Aniruddha Basu, General Manager Operations (Commercial &
Mains), Calcutta Electricity Supply Company Ltd., West Bengal, Shri V. Gandhi
Babu former Chief Engineer, A.P., representative of print and electronic media
and Ladies and gentlemen. 2. All said and done, if the benefits of any programme do not pass on to the beneficiaries, in the present case, the consumers, the programme cannot be said to be successful. The ultimate goal of power sector reform in the state is to ensure providing good quality uninterrupted 24 hours power supply at reasonable rates to all. When we say, 24 hours uninterrupted supply, it would mean both for rural areas and urban areas. Because it is only with electricity that modern industrial and commercial activities is possible in rural India and for that matters in rural Orissa. It is only with electricity that our rural areas can get integrated with our dynamic urban economy and benefit from it. This would be the key to the employment generation and poverty reduction and reducing the visible stress on our farming communities.
3. National Electricity Policy, among other things, seeks to achieve, access to electricity for all households in next five years, financial turn around and commercial viability of the electricity sector and above all, protection of consumers’ interest. The achievement of these objectives poses difficult challenges before all of us but if the distribution licensees, generators, the consumers, the regulators and the State Govt. at large, join together, it is possible for us to succeed and we most succeed at any cost. This should be the resolve of today’s workshop.
4. With these words, I express our heartfelt thanks to our Hon’ble Chief Minister for his kind presence and words of encouragement for all. I also sincerely thank our Hon’ble Finance Minister, Hon’ble Minister of Energy, IT and Culture for unfolding their vision for the sector. I also thank Shri Vivek Pattanayak, Chairman, CESU Management Board and ex-Chairman and Members of OERC. I also thank Development Commissioner, Principal Secretaries, Energy Secretary, other Secretaries of different departments present, representative of Consumer Forums, Distribution Licensees, representatives of local bodies, Non-govt. organizations, print and electronic media and all those present here. I also thank Shri Arup Ghosh, NDPL, Shri Aniruddha Basu, CESC Limited and Shri V. Gandhi Babu. I also thank our Chairperson, my esteemed colleague Shri S.K. Jena, all the officers and staff of OERC, officers and staff of Energy Department and the management of the Swosti Plaza for their cooperation and help in organizing this workshop. I once again thank all of you for having spared your valuable time to remain present in the inaugural session of the workshop.