Report of Indian Institute of Public Administration ... - Ministry of Power

Assam
associated TCS on this assignment. Training and support for loss estimation
and loss reduction in distribution, accounting and financial transfer programme
was awarded under a separate contract to M/s PwC. The work assignments
given to M/s PwC were comprehensive, requiring them to develop a strategy,
plan and a vision for each company including business strategy and the
commercial principles for operation, financial analysis support to each of the
new companies, assess values of the assets and also identify the financial assets
to be acquired by each company including identification of liabilities. They
were also to provide regulatory support to the new companies in filing tariff
petitions and licensing applications. M/s SMEC were mostly involved in the
HR areas, HR Management Policy for the new companies covering
recruitment, training, job descriptions, evaluation, promotion, compensation, IT
and functional specifications for financial and accounting management
reporting. The consultant was also required to assist in the appointment process
for senior managerial positions and transfer of personnel to the new companies.
The experience of restructuring in Assam highlights the critical role played by
the well-known management and financial consultants in designing the
structure, helping in the financial areas for starting the work on commercial
basis and holding the hands of the involved utility personnel. The support in the
implementation of the reform programme gives confidence to the managers and
others who have to work under a different system. It is also important that there
should be continuity in the position of the chief executives whose responsibility
in the final analysis is to accomplish change over smoothly. In the case of
ASEB, however, there were three changes.
7 IMPACT OF RESTRUCTURING
ASEB has been restructured recently into five new companies, which are
functioning as its subsidiaries. These companies were corporatised in October
2003. The chairman of ASEB currently is the chairman of all the new
companies. The organisational pattern is: three Directors, comprising of the
MD, Director (Finance) and a Director (Technical). The organisational
structure proposed was: five positions of General Managers looking after
commercial, finance, accounts, Human Resources, projects and operations.
There is, however, an acute shortage of technical and managerial personnel.
The staff has been transferred from the ASEB but they have to be absorbed in
the respective companies. Because of the geographical location of Assam and
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