The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has started the survey for automation, under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Program (R-APDRP) in the state.

The project is intended to reduce interruptions and long hours of power outages for consumers. The survey will be done in 43 towns by electrical feeders, from Aroor to Angamaly, and reports will be submitted on a weekly basis. The survey for this automated system has been completed in two electrical sections in the city.

Once the survey gets completed, work on the IT-enabled system and installation of hardware for the project will go hand in hand.

The IT system will include billing, GIS-based asset mapping as well as a web-enabled centralised customer care centre. The two pilot projects of the IT-enabled system will become operational in Guruvayur and Kottayam by November 2014.

The R-APDRP project will extend from Nedumbassery to Kumbalam in the Kochi area. Among the 31 substations in Kochi, 25 are inside the project area and six of them outside. The five electrical divisions that will come under the project are Ernakulam, Tripunithura, Mattancherry, Aluva and Perumbavoor. The project will be executed on a turnkey basis. The Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) has been appointed to carry out engineering work.

Installation of hardware for the project will be officially inaugurated on 23 February 2014, in Kochi. The new underground cables installed in the city will become part of the new system.