Bangalore: The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited will add close to 8,000 technical staff next year besides regularising a large number of contract field staff, its Chairman Bharat Lal Meena said here on Tuesday.

"The increase in technical staff is to help us face several new challenges. After carefully examining all factors, we have planned to add 365 sub-stations next fiscal, to improve power transmission. We are a sector closest to the public because all sections are our consumers," he said addressing the Karnataka Electricity Board Engineers' Association on its Silver Jubilee Commemoration Lecture, the 20th in an annual series.

The KPTCL which was earlier the second in the country with regard to transmission and distribution losses, had slipped to fourth position with 18 per cent loss rate and this will be brought down to a single digit next year, Mr. Meena said. The transmission and distribution losses average 10 to 11 per cent in the BESCOM area. There will be more real time energy audits to check power loss, he said.

"In the BESCOM area, nearly 50 towns have losses below 10 per cent and our target is to see that 300 towns in the State achieve this level by June-end. The annual budget for all Escoms will be enhanced and they will have to spend it to improve efficiency. There will be external and internal monitoring of engineers and efficiency will be rewarded through financial incentives," Mr. Meena said.

Referring to the KEBEA President B.N. Satyaprema Kumar's request that non-technical persons should not head an Escom, the Chairman said it was a question of who really deserved the post and not that of seniority alone but of leadership qualities.

BESCOM Managing Director G. Kumar Naik said the power utility had gone through a period of painless transition and now served 22 lakh consumers. BESCOM had a target of reducing transmission and distribution losses to eight to nine per cent within a year, he said.

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