Power Line is hosting a special 12-part podcast series, Discom Perspectives, sponsored by STS Association. The first episode featured an interaction with Arti Dogra (IAS), Chairman, Rajasthan Discoms, and Energy Secretary, Government of Rajasthan. The discussion focused on the operational, financial and structural transformation of Rajasthan’s distribution utilities over the past few years, as well as their preparedness for an increasingly complex power landscape. She highlighted the discoms’ progress in strengthening network infrastructure, enhancing billing and collection efficiency, and reducing AT&C losses. The conversation also explored future priorities, including smart metering, renewable energy integration, and the need to manage system variability and transmission constraints. Edited excerpts…
What have been the noteworthy achievements of your utilities over the past three years?
Over the past few years, our focus has shifted from a reactive, firefighting approach to a more stable and system-driven model. We have strengthened our financial discipline and operational predictability while preparing for a future with greater renewable energy integration, which is becoming a core strength in Rajasthan. As a government utility, our priorities are aligned with the state’s development goals, including supporting industrial growth and ensuring power supply for agriculture. Our achievements can be seen in three key areas. First is financial discipline. At the end of the last financial year, the Jaipur discom recorded its best financial performance since unbundling. We achieved over 100 per cent revenue realisation, recovered approximately Rs 6 billion in past dues, and improved billing and collection efficiency.
Second is loss reduction. AT&C losses have been a challenge across discoms, but in Rajasthan, the Jaipur and Ajmer discoms have reduced losses to below 10 per cent for the first time. The Jodhpur discom is also working towards further reduction despite inherent regional challenges.
Third is system improvement. We have made significant progress in metering and network strengthening. This is the first financial year in which the Jaipur discom has started with zero defective meters, addressing a long-standing issue.
On the supply side, we have strengthened our network to support daytime power for farmers. Under the PM-KUSUM Yojana, we have enabled daytime supply in 24 out of 41 districts, and further aim to achieve the state’s goal of providing daytime power to farmers across all districts by 2027. Overall, the system today is far more predictable and data-driven than it was earlier.
What are the key priorities for your organisations for the next three years?
The next phase in Rajasthan will focus less on isolated metrics and more on managing system complexity, including renewable energy integration and transmission capacity expansion. We are working closely with the state government to fulfil its development goals, including ensuring reliable 24×7 supply and expanding daytime supply. A key priority for us is to transition to a data-driven utility model through smart metering, improved feeder metering, and stronger analytics. Another area of focus is integrating renewable energy while managing its impact and ensuring financial sustainability without tariff shocks.
Primarily, we are focused on improving consumer services and responsiveness by making operations more IT-driven. Our overall aim is to prepare discoms for a more dynamic and demanding environment shaped by renewables and battery storage, all while maintaining robust system predictability.
What are your plans to address these priorities and achieve these goals?
We are addressing these goals through a three-pronged approach: technology, processes, and people. In terms of technology, with support from the government under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), we are rolling out smart metering systems, strengthening data analytics, and integrating multiple databases. Over the past year, we have successfully piloted and implemented the first digital twin in the Jaipur discom.
On the process front, we are focusing on micro-monitoring, feeder-level accountability, and system standardisation. We are moving away from one-off drives for loss reduction and revenue recovery towards continuous, embedded systems.
Finally, we are building ownership at the field level and strengthening accountability among our engineers, technical teams, and revenue teams to create a performance-oriented work culture. Our objective is to ensure that these reforms become deeply embedded within the system, making them sustainable rather than dependent on individuals or limited schemes.
What do you see as the key challenges?
Rajasthan faces a set of legacy challenges, primarily related to transmission infrastructure and past inefficiencies, which will take time to address.
A key challenge arises from the inherent characteristics of the state, including its large scale and geographic diversity, which makes uniform implementation more difficult compared to other states. Being a desert state with vast distances, transmission lines are significantly longer, and even supplying power to villages requires higher capacities and extensive network expansion. This, in turn, makes infrastructure development more challenging.
Another major challenge is the complexity of the ongoing energy transition, which is being faced across states. This includes managing the variability associated with renewable energy integration, both at the utility scale and in distributed systems such as those under PM-KUSUM. Integrating solar and wind power, while maintaining grid stability, adds to operational complexity.
Further, the system must manage increasing uncertainty in a more dynamic environment, including pronounced seasonal demand variations. Demand patterns differ significantly between the rabi season, when agricultural consumption dominates, and the summer season, which has its own peak characteristics. Addressing this variability while ensuring reliability remains a key challenge for the state.
What are your capex plans for the next three years and the top areas of expenditure?
Capex in Rajasthan is being increasingly focused on system strengthening to ensure reliability, build network capacity, and make the system more resilient and future-ready. A significant portion of the planned capex is directed towards strengthening and augmenting the network, particularly in rural areas, in line with the state’s commitment to ensuring reliable power supply for farmers.
At the same time, substantial investments are being made in smart metering infrastructure, as well as in upgrading substations and feeders to handle more variable loads as energy dynamics continue to evolve. The emphasis is not merely on system expansion, but also on enhancing resilience, improving flexibility, and enabling better control over the network going forward.
What are some of the measures that you have undertaken or are undertaking for loss reduction?
Loss reduction has been a key focus area, with several initiatives undertaken under the RDSS. These include feeder segregation and bifurcation, strengthening of the high voltage distribution system, and augmentation of transformers. Special attention has been given to theft-prone and high-loss areas through targeted network improvement measures.
We have adopted a data-driven approach to identify loss-heavy pockets at both the feeder and distribution transformer levels. While earlier efforts relied significantly on enforcement-led interventions, the strategy is now shifting towards a more system-driven model of loss reduction.
Significant progress has been made in metering infrastructure. With nearly all distribution transformers now metered, real-time monitoring of feeders and transformers is possible. This has been complemented by improvements in billing systems and the increasing use of analytics to identify gaps and inefficiencies in the network. Together, these measures are expected to reduce losses and enhance revenue.
On the ground, field-level interventions have also yielded positive results in high-loss areas. These efforts involved consumer engagement through interactive camps, identification of illegal transformers, and the use of drone technology to detect power theft. The deployment of IT- and GPS-based systems has further enabled real-time tracking of theft-related activities through engineers’ mobile devices and tablets.
Going forward, our focus will increasingly be on leveraging advanced technologies and analytics to drive sustained improvements in loss reduction.
