TRANSFORMATION IN POWER SECTOR THROUGH INNOVATIVE CAPACITY BUILDING
Arundhati Mukherjee
Deputy General Manager(C&I) , PPG, CMM, Damodar Valley Corporation, Kolkata/ Control& Instrumentation Engineer/MBA Power Management/Published Author/Writer/Interested in ESG, Climate Finance & Sustainability
ABSTRACT
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The Power Sector is undergoing a sea change with technological disruption, energy mix with renewables and with the commitment of net zero target by 2070.India is all set for the transition by reducing the carbon footprint, venturing into new avenues of energy, storage system, synthetic fuels, Power to X, integration of grid, in tune with the global upheaval in energy market. Decarbonization, Decentralization and Digitalization?? of Power Sector is?? the call of the day. This has resulted in the need for upskilling, reskilling, exploring possibilities and unlocking of potential for a growth driven future proof sustainable organization.
Capacity building is the developing of instincts, abilities, competencies, processes and resources in tune with the dynamic changing time, to not just survive but to thrive for a sustainable future proof organization. To make the organization more resilient, visionary, future proof, Capacity Building is imperative, at individual level as well as organizational level for a smooth transition or transformation. Capacity building focuses not only on immediate gain but in to the future for longevity, tenacity, resilience, and flourishing.
All United Nations Member States in 2015, adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDG has 17 targets to be achieved by 2030, broken down into five categories:?finance ,?technology ,?capacity building ,?trade ?in a systematic manner. SDG 17, which covers means of implementation and the global partnership for sustainable development, contains target 17.9 which aims to: "Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals.”
This paper is a qualitative research based on the study?? of innovative practices across the globe for capacity building and sketching out a road map so that it is ensured that every employee's journey is filled with growth, support and success, paving the way to organizational growth to transform individual as well as the organization. Effort has been made to devise a process, embedding innovation as the way of life and adopting capacity building as a continuous process with the help of digital learning & development tools and partnership with developed countries.
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SUB THEME: Capacity building and people practices for preparing future proof power professionals
KEY WORDS: Capacity Building, Innovation, Partnership, Tools
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INTRODUCTION
The power sector scenario globally and in India is undergoing a massive transformation as the call for action for climate change and Net Zero target are driving the sector to assimilate and integrate more renewables in the energy mix for a sustainable future. As per data from CEA the primary energy demand in India?ie the? ?electricity generation target for the year 2023-24 has been fixed at 1750 BU comprising of 1324.110 BU Thermal; 156.700 BU Hydro; 46.190 Nuclear; 8 BU Import from Bhutan and 215 BU RES (Excl. Large Hydro). ?i.e. growth of around 7.2% over actual generation of 1624.158?BU for the previous year (2022-23).At present the share of thermal and Renewables including hydro is 57.0% and 41.4 % whereas nuclear power is 1.6%.
The increase in demand is being driven? by a number of factors, the most important of which are increasing incomes and economic growth which lead to greater demand for energy services .As a part of the 2030 Agenda The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Sustainable Development, a global commitment to address the social, economic and environmental challenges collectively shared by all .These goals represent a comprehensive approach and respect the direction of international cooperation and national development. The SDG has 17 targets to be achieved by 2030, broken down into five categories:?finance ,?technology ,?capacity building ,?trade ?in a systematic manner. SDG 17, which covers means of implementation and the global partnership for sustainable development, contains target 17.9 which aims to: "Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals.” Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, capacity-building is also mentioned by target 17.8 in the context of ensuring full operationalization of the “technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017”. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda deals with the means required for implementation of the Goals and targets. As reported in paragraph 41, these include the mobilization of financial resources as well as capacity-building and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed.
For this sustainable development innovation is absolutely necessary as our honourable PM rightly says “Innovation is vital for combating climate change and ensuring climate justice.” –Mission Innovation event
India is one of the three countries responsible for crystalizing the idea of global initiative to accelerate the pace of innovation and make clean energy widely affordable, which culminated in Mission Innovation. Being a founding member and as steering committee member, India has played an active role in all Mission Innovation activities.
?India will be the key driver of global energy demand in the next twenty-five years according to an energy forecast. India’s energy consumption will grow by 4.2 % a year for the next twenty-five years. India stands 4th globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity (including Large Hydro), 4th in Wind Power capacity & 4th in Solar Power capacity (as per REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report).?As of Feb 2023, Renewable energy sources, including large hydropower, have a combined installed capacity of 178.79 GW.?. Decarbonization, Decentralization and Digitalization?? of Power Sector is?? the call of the day. This has resulted in the need for upskilling, reskilling, exploring possibilities and unlocking of potential for a growth driven future proof sustainable organization.
The Government is making a concerted effort to meet the requirements and goals for India’s economic and energy security in a timely manner by enhancing the pace of innovation and scale of transformation in support of a clean energy revolution and sustainable development goals.? This will be achieved by:
Several key government departments and research agencies, institutions of repute like IITs etc are engaged in research, development, and demonstration of clean energy across India.
?Modalities of such cooperation include field studies, joint research and technology development, pilot-scale plants, and demonstration projects with active involvement of research institutions and industry on either side. Appropriate bilateral and multilateral cooperation programs for sharing of technologies and funding are developed. Participation in international partnerships and exchange of scientists, wherever necessary, is also explored.
To meet the ambitious national target for a green path to growth, R&D and demonstration projects are supported through grants and in some case for setting up specialized centres in high technology areas. These special centres develop linkages between the organizations/agencies undertaking technology development and the user organizations and transfer of know-how is thus facilitated to industry. With a view to achieve global competitiveness, participation by industry in R&D and technology development is encouraged with increased investment by industry.
Areas of emphasis for clean energy and mission innovation
For this transformation and mission innovation ,the new technologies have to be adopted, learnt and implemented .As such the talent management and talent nurturing of existing work force in the organization and after? talent acquisition, developing the capacity of the talent is becoming imperative.
Capacity-building as such goes beyond technical cooperation and training approaches. According to UN Capacity Building is defined as “a change process through which individuals and institutions engage in a set of learning methods, whereby they develop and acquire knowledge, skills, know-how, and tools that strengthen their ability to effectively intervene, transform and improve themselves and the environment in which they operate.”
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH: This paper is a qualitative research based on the study?? of innovative practices across the globe for capacity building and sketching out a road map so that it is ensured that every employees journey is filled with growth, support and success, paving the way to organizational growth to transform individual as well as organization in the power sector.
Four Facets of Capacity Building
Individual, Leaders, Organizational, Environmental.
An organization is not a structure but capability and humans are not resources but possibility. For talent attraction, engagement and retention the key driver should be an unique Employee Value Proposition. It is a set of associations and offerings provided by an organization in return for the skills, capabilities and experiences an employee brings to the organization. Organizations should focus on what workers need to thrive over the long term, balancing material offerings with opportunities to grow, connection and community, and meaning and purpose out of the work they are doing..
The four factors which are interdependent parts of an integrated system that can make synergies possible by an effective and enduring Employee Value Proposition are:
Opportunities to develop and grow?
Connection and community?
Meaning and purpose
Material offerings
HR operating model is changing to drive value in a volatile business environment. To give opportunity to develop and grow, capacity building is imperative for an organization to not just survive but to thrive. Capacity building is recognized by the UN as a "process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world.”
The objectives of Capacity Building which is a continuous process are:
(a) Acquisition of knowledge, skills and know-how;
(b) Development and strengthening competencies functional, operational and core competencies of organization;
(c) Development or strengthening of the ability to achieve one’s mission and aspirations;
(d) Improvement of individual and institutional performance;
(e) Institution building and improvement of governance systems;
(f) Strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity over time.
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The art of the capacity-building process is knowing where you need to invest your energy and where you need to pull away. Capacity building is not about doing more. It’s about doing more of the right things.
The capacity building has four facets Individual, Leadership, Organizational, Environmental.
1.Individual: It starts from building one’s own capacity ie spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional capacity. Each individual has different domain of work. Advancing ones technical knowhow for functional and operational competencies. To blossom to ones highest possibility. Each employee needs to be individually empowered.
2.Leadership: After developing one’s own capability one has to develop a collective competencies, to work in team, to motivate others, to be a guiding light to many to be a mentor. This is capacity building of leaders. Managerial competencies is developed.
3.Organizational: Capacity building of the organization for it to become a capability, all individual members of the organization ie the employees develop themselves. Few of them? develop further to become leaders and lead the team to build organizational capability to fulfil organizational goal.
4.Envirionmental sustainability: The organization is affected by the outer environment. As an organization has several beneficiaries, stakeholders and in this fast changing scenario of the power sector which is in a transition phase to thrive and sustain oneself,and grow environmental capability for sustainability. Skills aligning with the business strategy and fast changing scenario needs to be adopted by organization, in to its system, like digitalization ,decarbonization? and distribution approach? of the energy system. Accordingly the skills need to be updated and it’s a final call. Organizational capability is enhanced by the compliance of environmental norms.
Thus the objective of capacity building of individual, organization and environment is to:
·???????? Create a values-based culture: A culture of continuous learning, mentorship and engagement and community building.?
·???????? Build an employer brand: It is very vital for attracting talent
·???????? Attract and retain talent:?Talent needs to be acquired and nurtured to blossom to its full potential to maximize its output for the development of the organization and thriving. A purpose and meaning is given to the work he performs by giving him a growth trajectory and career path.
·???????? Develop people capabilities.?In this fast changing scenario and technological disruption, Human capital requires ongoing investments in learning and development to retain its value. When knowledge and experience become outdated the value of human capital declines and needs to be supplemented by new learning and relevant work experiences, developing new capabilities.
·???????? Motivation and Employee Engagement: The most important way to engage employees is to provide them with opportunities to learn and develop new competencies. Research suggests that lifelong learning contributes to happiness.?
·???????? To develop competencies to compete and not just survive but thrive in this competitive uncertain environment: The organizational capability is to be built up to thrive in this competitive power market by adopting digitalization, decarbonization and decentralization strategies by innovative? capacity building.
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CAPACITY BUILDING MANAGEMENT BY ADOPTING DIGITALIZATION AND ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY
The HR is at crossroads to step into the innovative culture of digital transformation and reinventing the way work is done. There are tons of things and processes which can be streamlined to their maximum extent by using the?SAP?module and capacity management is amongst them. Seeing the changing needs of this domain, the SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning module has gone through minor changes and got the addition of few features. To have strong emphasis on driving business transformation and value realization adoption of cloud based ERP solution is crucial. Skill mapping, gap analysis, capacity assessment can be part of capacity management through ERP solution to customize training need analysis of each employee. Some tools for capacity management are:
SAP SuccessFactors consulting services: Help organization realize performance excellence with SAP SuccessFactors solutions by evaluating Human Experience Management (HXM) operating model, improving process and accelerating implementations.?
Use of Microsoft 365 Power BI for capacity management is an innovative tool which can be used effectively for capacity planning.
An essential component of this effort is a comprehensive, coordinated strategy that engages the organization and encourages collaboration.
Reporting and Predictive analytics with Human Capital Management software: HCM (human capital management) software, sometimes called an HRIS (human resources information system), or an HRMS (human resources management system), is a technology application that can help Talent Management and Talent Nurturing. The benefits of HCM are :
·???????? Offers a database of actionable insights to help organizations add value to their employees.
·???????? Performance reviews, employee benefits claims, skills, turnover rate and other statistics data can help them adjust their practices to improve the work environment and achieve objectives.
·???????? Talent Acquisition: Right people for right role
·???????? Talent Nurturing : ?HCM provides processes that can identify the individual strengths and competencies of employees and match them to the best role.
·???????? Increase productivity in workforce: Increase workforce productivity and efficiency
???????????? by investing in training that develops specific capabilities the organization needs ??
????????? ???to accomplish its goals, human capital management helps boost productivity.
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·???????? Capacity building: It identifies capability gaps and bridges it through training, surveys, performance reviews and other sources of feedback. It provides adequate training to help employees deliver their best performance and plan their future.
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Global scenario ?in Capacity Building in Power Sector
Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to accelerate global clean energy innovation. As part of the initiative, participating countries have committed to double their governments clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over five years, while encouraging greater levels of private sector investment in transformative clean energy technologies. Off Grid Innovation challenge has participation of 18 countries and European Union
India announced that funding will support researchers and private sector to work collaboratively on 2 year projects.?Focus will be to accelerate innovation around the focus of innovation challenge IC#2 and collaborative work is encouraged. ?9 projects have been selected & awarded with participation of 9 MI countries.
?UN-Habitat’s Capacity Development and Training Unit initiated the production of guideline. It aims to support an increased integration of digital tools into the delivery of capacity-building activities and programmes
GOI initiatives for capacity building in Power Sector
Capacity building and other support is essential for the DISCOMs to implement Demand Side Management measures in their respective areas. In this context, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India has launched a programme for Capacity Building of DISCOMs since 2014. This has lead to the development of various mechanisms to promote DSM in DISCOMs as well as capacity building of their official
Demand Side Management (DSM) programs help utilities to reduce their peak power purchases on the wholesale market, thereby lowering their overall cost of operations.?
?Five Project Management Consultants (PMCs) were engaged by BEE for five regional zones to carry out the following activities.
·???????? Carrying out load research, finalization of DSM action plan
·???????? ?Conducting the Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes to create master trainers
·???????? ?Capacity building of circle level officials of DISCOMs and providing manpower support to DISCOMs.?
·???????? Cooperative Isolated Renewable Energy Systems (IRES) for Enhancing Reliability of Power in Rural Areas
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Proposed Road Map for Innovative Capacity Building in Power sector Organization for Transformation ?
Automation of HR processes is key to Capacity building.
1.Use of digital tools for skill mapping, gap analysis etc ie complete Capacity Management of each employee by using ERP solutions lijke SAP Success factor, Cloud based SAP, HCM software or Microsoft 365 Power Business Intelligence feature.
2.Technical competencies and managerial competencies assessment of employees.
3. Capacity Building framework in line with the development strategy of organization and business goals.
4. L&D leaders must make sure that learning technologies fit into an overall system architecture that includes functionality to support the entire talent cycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, L&D, real-time feedback tools, career management, succession planning, and rewards and recognition. An ERP system like SAP or Oracle is best suited for that.
5.The expansion plan for renewables and clean coal technology for super critical and ultracritical plants require new skilled work force. The present workforce needs upskilling, reskilling and at same time employees need to be recruited with skills matching with the requirement of the project.
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INNOVATIVE CAPACITY BUILDING MODEL FOR POWER SECTOR
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1.????? ANALYZE ENVIRONMENT
2.????? EXPLORE DIVERGENT OPPERTUNITIES
3.????? GENERATE IDEAS
4.????? FOCUS ON SELECTIVE OR CONVERGENT GOAL OR TARGET.
5.????? VALUE ADDING TO ENVIRONMENT, ORGANIZATION & INDIVIDUAL
?Extensive use of digitalization for a Decentralized and Decarbonized Sustainable future to thrive requires following action plan :
1.????? Mapping Individual career pathway for each employee based on skill mapping and gap analysis, competency assessment. Use of Digital tools like LMS platform for enhancing technical and managerial know how with customized learning pathway.
2.????? Development of Potential Leaders to lead the team. Partnership with leading Organizations and Reputed National Institutions like IIMs, Top Business schools .Partnership with Global international B schools, for exposure and cultural exchange.
3.????? Adopting best practices of other reputed giants in power sector like NTPC, and other European countries like Germany, UK, US for developing organizational capability.
4.????? Measuring the impact of Capacity building on the Environment in which the organization is operating with 360degree feedback mechanism from all stake holders.
5.????? Organizational capability feedback
6.????? Individual growth feedback mechanism by virtue of measurement of Key Performance Areas.
7.????? Collaborative engagement and team building
8.????? Predictive analytics: With predictive analytics, you’ll know an individual employee’s skill gap, goals, and preferences and it can even help you reveal hidden employee skills.
9.????? Predictive analytics engines can use an employee’s education and experience to find out if they’d be perfect for a different or higher job position. This way you can train current employees instead of searching for new recruits. If a current underperformer shows interest in self-improvement by regularly accessing the course materials, you’ll know that investing in their ongoing education will be worth it.
????? 10.A capacity planning tool is?something that allows you to forecast your future resource
???? needs and allocate resources at the right time.
???? 11.Automated updates and real-time visibility over resources means you can save time and money, completing projects on schedule and on budget and allocating human capital at right place in right time with right skill.
Traditional manual capacity planning techniques are labour-intensive and error-prone. Spreadsheets might start out looking tidy, but require a lot of work to maintain.?
????? 12.With resource capacity planning software, you can get much better visibility and insights over your resource capacity at the click of a button. You can share insights with managers and teams for resource synchronization, making your project run smoother and more efficiently. Microsoft 365 Power BI is a powerful tool for skill mapping and gap analysis.
????? 13.Organization can harness on the partnership goals of India with other countries for capacity building.
India’s development partnerships have emerged as a potential game changer in the larger aid architecture, given its key role in the development of several of the South Asian and African countries. Indeed, its development cooperation initiatives have elevated its position to a level where it can possibly reshape the global arc of international development. It is observed that India, though indirectly, contributed towards most of the sustainability targets. For instance, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme in Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Bhutan, it helped in capacity-building and technical training (SDG 17) Programme in various sectoral areas, such as education (SDG 4) and health (SDG 3). It also provided infrastructural support (SDG 9) to these nations in the form of constructing hydropower plants, roadways, and transportation links, thereby, opening up new markets for trade.
C apacity building has become an essential aspect of many companies’ strategic planning. Public Private Partnership model for exchange of ideas and implementation with countries like a. Joint? Declaration of Intent between The Republic of India And The Federal Republic of Germany on the Partnership for Green and Sustainable Development with forums like Indo-German Environment Forum, the Indo German Energy Forum, including the soon to be implemented Indo German Green Hydrogen Task Force, the Indo-German Solar Partnership, the Indo-German Green Urban Mobility Partnership.
b. To strengthen mutual trust and cooperation & enhance global energy security, stability and sustainability the Framework for Strategic Partnership between the International Energy Agency (IEA) members and the Government of India was signed on 27th January, 2021. This is for an extensive exchange of knowledge.
c. Innovation can’t happen certainly without exchange of knowledge across continents and without ??universities and scientists.
?The Government of India is an important part of this new global partnership, and it has been strengthened by the country’s efforts to build networks within the region and with the world. South-South co-operation has been a crucial part of this, as is India’s membership and leadership in institutions like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization , BRICS and its New Development Bank , and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation , as well as with UN agencies and programmes around the world and with US and Norway.
d. The expected launch of the UK and India Government’s Global Green Grids – One Sun One World One Grid Initiative by delegations of UK and India. This initiative will bring together an international coalition of national governments, financial organisations, and power system operators to accelerate the construction of new infrastructure needed to deliver a massive scale-up of secure, reliable and affordable power, such as modern, flexible grids, charging points, and electricity interconnectors.
NITI Aayog is the nodal institution for SDGs, leading the 2030 Agenda with the spirit of cooperation and competitive federalism. NITI Aayog monitors the national and sub-national levels progress through the SDG India Index and Dashboard.
There is a demand driven urgency to deliver high-quality digital capacity-building. As India seeks to ensure reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to a growing population, opportunities and challenges are manifold. “Government policies to accelerate India’s clean energy transition can lay the foundation for lasting prosperity and greater energy security. The stakes could not be higher, for India and for the world,” said Dr Birol Executive Director, International Energy Agency. “All roads to successful global clean energy transitions go via India.” So organizations have huge opportunities for sharing knowledge and building capacity also through these channels.
Inference
So we see that organizations in the power sector in India have lot to do and lots of opportunities in the field of capacity building in order to thrive and not just survive in this dynamic transition phase of power sector. Capacity building in an organization can effectively be used to ensure that every employee's journey is filled with growth, support and success, paving the way to organizational growth to transform individual as well as the organization to add value to all stakeholders and the environment in which it operates. This will lead to a sustainable future for our progeny and align with sustainable development goals for the future of Earth. So innovative capacity building is inevitable, for transformation of power sector and transition to the new era of net zero.
References:
3.????? Capitalizing on Capabilities ( hbr.org )
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