Dr Murhari Sopanrao Kele, director, technical, Madhya Pradesh Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited (MPPKVVCL), finds immense pleasure in serving the society by electrifying every household. He is currently on deputation from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), where he was chief general manager and executive director (HR).
Under his leadership, MPPKVVCL has displayed impressive results with a significant reduction in distribution transformer (DT) losses. “This has been made possible through the DT renovation scheme, improved power supply through reactive power management, and the implementation of various government schemes,” he says. On the challenges facing the discom, Kele says, “The biggest challenges are the high aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses, high power purchase costs and the lack of last mile connectivity in certain areas.” He feels that the utility needs to amend the existing metering-billing-collection cycle and deploy advanced technologies such as smart meters and SCADA systems.
Kele has a multidisciplinary academic background in the technical, administrative, managerial, legal and financial fields. An electrical engineer, Kele went on to do an MBA, LLB, a host of certification programmes and eventually a Ph.D in power distribution franchise. His career profile is equally intriguing. He began his career as an assistant engineer with Garware Plastics and Polyester Limited where he was in charge of the maintenance of motors, generators, compressors and substations. A year later, he moved to the erstwhile Maharashtra State Electricity Board and later joined MSEDCL in 2005 as an executive engineer. However, his inclination towards distribution franchises led him to move to Torrent Power as manager, a position he held for five years.
Kele’s most memorable assignment was working with Torrent Power in Bhiwandi, the first distribution franchise in India. This stint motivated him to research further on distribution franchises and culminated in his authoring two books on it. Kele, in fact, has a strong passion for writing, which is reflected in the fact that he has so far authored seven books and numerous articles. He is associated with more than 20 technical, educational, social and cultural institutions, and his work in these fields has been acknowledged through more than 26 awards. He has also starred in a Marathi movie.