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About South Asia Distribution Utility Network (DUN):

DUN has been formed to facilitate knowledge exchange among power distribution utilities in South Asia and provide opportunities to accelerate and support the envisaged transition towards improved utilities of the future.

Objectives of the South Asia Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Transmission Tower

Enhance Focus on Distribution Issues at the Regional Level

Electric vehicle

Enable Utility to Utility (U2U) Connect

Enable Knowledge Sharing Among DISCOMs in South Asia

Solar

Reap the Benefits of Aggregation

The South Asia Distribution Utilities Network (DUN) was launched at the Ministry of Power, Government of India, on Monday, February 20 in the gracious presence of Sh. RK Singh, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister (Power, New & Renewable Energy), Government of India. He was joined by senior officials from the Ministry of Power, India and other officials from power sector departments of South Asian counties, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Steering Committee
Task Force 1
Task Force 2
Task Force 3
Secretariat – PFC
USAID’s SAREP
(Technical Assistance Partner)
Steering Committee:
PFC and senior representatives from Ministries and DISCOMs from South Asia, USAID, and the Industry
Task Force: Demand driven subject matter requirements
Secretariat: Convenor logistics and infrastructure support

STRUCTURE

South Asia Distribution Utility Network shall function through a well-established structure comprising of Steering Committee, Secretariat, and Task Forces. The Leading Non-Banking Financial Corporation (NBFC) from India, namely, Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (PFC) is the Secretariat of DUN.

Expected Outcomes

Transmission Tower

Foster culture of knowledge exchange among the South Asia DISCOMs

Electric vehicle

Accelerate the pace of reforms and adoption of advanced technologies and practices

Dissemination of knowledge products and tools for South Asia DISCOMs

Solar

Leverage the global case studies/best practices for South Asia DISCOMs

Task Forces

Transmission Tower

Task Force 1

Smart Metering, Data Analytics, and Consumer Engagement

Electric vehicle

Task Force 2

Grid Modernization

Task Force 3

Clean Energy Transition

Task Force 4

AI/ML and Cybersecurity

Solar

Task Force 5

Planning, Policy, and Regulation

Steering Committee

Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Chairperson

Name: Mr. Alok Kumar
Designation: Secretary, Ministry of Power, India
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Convener

Name: Smt. Parminder Chopra
Designation: CMD, PFC, India
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Co-convener

Name: Piyush Singh
Designation: Joint Secretary (Distribution), Ministry of Power, India
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Bangladesh

Name: Md. Habibur Rahman
Designation: Secretary, Ministry of Power or nominated members
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Bhutan

Name: Dasho Karma Tshering
Designation: Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources or nominated members
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Bangladesh

Name: Mr. Ajwad Mustafa
Designation: Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Technology or nominated members
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Nepal

Name: Dinesh Kumar Ghimire
Designation: Secretary (Energy), Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation or nominated members
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Sri Lanka

Name: Mapa Pathirana
Designation: Secretary Ministry of Power, Sri Lanka or nominated members
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Madhya Pradesh

Name: Sanjay Dubey
Designation: Principal Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Gujarat

Name: Mamta Verma
Designation: Principal Secretary, Government of Gujarat
Distribution Utility Network (DUN)

Karnataka

Name: XXXXXXXX
Designation: TBD

Activity Calendar

Theme

Description

Frequency

1 Distribution Task Force meet

  • First Meeting of the Task Force to focus on the following:
    • Discuss and develop implementation plans (for strategic guidance received from the Steering committee)
    • Coordinate network activities and initiatives
    • Review activity progress, address issues and report to the Steering committee and all members
  • Second Meeting of the Task Force will be part of annual signature conference namely South Asia Distribution Utilities Meet. The conference will have participation from other South Asian utilities (beyond the task force group) to ensure broader engagement.

 June and November
2 Training Programs

  • Capacity building programs in partnership with regional centres of excellence (e.g., SGKC) and other global institutions (e.g. EPRI, NREL).

 Ongoing
3 Workshops and Leadership Interactions

  • Case study program on utility performance experiences
  • Interaction with utility leadership to learn about utility transformation journey

 Ongoing
4 Technical products

Dissemination of the following:

  • Policy and regulatory papers and technical research papers
  • Model document templates
  • Analytical tools, approaches, frameworks & methodologies
  • Benchmarking/Rating of utilities

 Ongoing
5 Online knowledge sharing sessions

  • Webinars on technical and operational subjects by reputed regional and global organizations

Duration: Maximum one-hour (half an hour for presentation and half an hour for questions & discussion)

Frequency: Initially, each task force to conduct one such session each quarter

 Ongoing
6 Study Tours and Site Visits

  • In person visits to utilities (within the region or other geographies)
  • Interaction with the utility staff at visit location for learning from their experiences

 To be decided