Satish Chandra Jha has more than two decades of experience in financial and commercial management in the steel and power sectors, as well as expertise in the formulation and application of various power sector regulations. He began his career with NTPC Limited in 1987 as a deputy manager and retired from the company in 2011 as general manager. He is now serving as member, Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Commenting on the state of the sector in Bihar, he says, “There is significant potential for the growth of the power sector in the state. The quantum of power distributed in Bihar increased to about 3,500 MW in 2015 from around 1,800 MW in 2011. Transmission and distribution losses have come down to 42 per cent from 50-57 per cent. Simultaneously, there is an increasing trend in per capita consumption. All these signify that the power sector in Bihar is on a growth trajectory.” Jha believes that central government schemes like the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, and the state government’s support through revenue and capital grants will give a boost to Bihar’s power sector.
Jha recalls his most memorable assignment as the renovation and modernisation of the Muzaffarpur thermal power station of the erstwhile Bihar State Electricity Board, which he was involved in while he was working with NTPC. “There were challenges not only in the area of finance, which I was handling, but also in terms of lack of basic infrastructure facilities at the project site, which made working conditions extremely difficult. However, despite these challenges, the project was successful.”
Jha believes in a participative management style. “Participative management gives everyone an opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and accomplish tasks as a common goal,” he says.
Jha is a science graduate from Bihar University and a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. To maintain a healthy work-life balance, he tries to keep his personal and professional lives separate and give his hundred per cent attention to the task at hand. In his spare time, he likes to read – his favourite authors include Premchand and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. Jha hopes to write a book some day. His family includes his wife, Renu, a homemaker, and their three children. Both his daughters are engineers in the US and his son is currently pursuing medicine.