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Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company

Overview

Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) is an electricity distribution utility serving the southern districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is one of the four distribution subsidiaries formed under the unbundling of the erstwhile Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB), and operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), the state holding company for the power sector.

Key facts

Name Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited
Abbreviation DGVCL
Type State-owned distribution company (DISCOM)
Industry Electricity distribution
Parent Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL)
Owner Government of Gujarat
Headquarters Surat, Gujarat, India
Area served South Gujarat

Background

Until the early 2000s, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Gujarat were handled by the Gujarat Electricity Board, a vertically integrated state utility. In line with the reforms initiated by the Electricity Act, 2003, the Government of Gujarat restructured the GEB into separate functional companies covering generation, transmission, distribution and trading, with GUVNL acting as the holding entity.

As part of this reorganisation, the distribution function was divided geographically among four DISCOMs: Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (south Gujarat), Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (central Gujarat), Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (north Gujarat) and Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (west and Saurashtra–Kutch region).

Area of operation

DGVCL is responsible for the retail supply of electricity to domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural consumers in the southern part of Gujarat. Its licence area broadly covers the districts of Surat, Bharuch, Narmada, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad and Dang. The region includes the major industrial belt around Surat, Hazira and Vapi, which contributes significantly to the company's industrial load and revenue.

Operations

The company purchases bulk power primarily from GUVNL, which aggregates supply from state-owned and central generation sources, independent power producers and renewable plants. DGVCL operates a network of 66 kV and 11 kV sub-stations, distribution feeders and consumer service connections, and is responsible for metering, billing, revenue collection and consumer grievance redressal in its area.

Its tariff structure is determined by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC), which approves the annual revenue requirement and retail supply tariff applicable to different consumer categories.

Significance

As the distribution licensee for one of India's most industrialised regions, DGVCL plays a central role in supplying power to textile, chemical, petrochemical, diamond-processing and engineering industries concentrated in south Gujarat. Along with the other Gujarat DISCOMs, it is often cited as part of a relatively financially healthier set of state distribution utilities in India, particularly in comparisons of aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses.

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