Sudhendu (Shibu) Dhar

Mr. Sudhendu (Shibu) Dhar has over 35 years of experience in the power sector, as a manager and planner with a leading U.S. utility, a regulator in California and, as an independent consultant for the last 25 years, working with utilities, regulatory agencies and governments in over 50 countries worldwide on utility operations, regulation, legislation, system planning, and program preparation and financing. Since 1993, Mr. Dhar has advised governments, regulators, private and public utilities throughout the developing world on economic, regulatory, technical feasibility, managerial, and legal issues relating to electric utilities, including generation based on renewable as well as conventional resources. In his work, he has assisted utilities in optimizing their financial processes to improve financial outcomes. For instance, for ENDE (Distribution Utility) in Angola from 2015 to 2016, he prepared a Revenue Protection Manual to improve billing, metering, and collection and trained staff on these topics. As a result, ENDE started the implementation of programs on technical and non-technical losses; these programs are being implemented in parallel with the African Development Bank (AfDB) financing based on work scopes he prepared. In similar work worldwide supported by donors such as USAID, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the AfDB, among others, Mr. Dhar has identified ways to improve the financial performance of utilities, leading to program implementation in numerous instances, and in some cases, privatization of public sector companies. In Mongolia, he appraised several power sector assets for possible privatization, work that led eventually to the sale of Darkhan-Selenge Electric Distribution Company (DED). In Jordan, Mr. Dhar supported utilities IDECO, JEPCO and EDCO with recommendations on strategies for strengthening the companies’ financial situation. His recommendation to prepare detailed asset registers was implemented with significant investments in software and accounting systems, leading to a significant improvement in the bankability of the companies’ financial reports. Supported by USTDA, he advised utility GETCO in Gujarat State, India, on strategies for the integration of variable renewable energy resources, a task complicated by the limitations on the state’s access to dispatchable generation resources, including hydropower, gas-fired thermal and coal-fired supplies from India’s national grid. Mr. Dhar has authored technical and research reports and publications related to various areas of utility management, renewable and conventional energy technologies. He is the author of Energy Conservation Workbook for Utilities, which was distributed to 45 countries in Africa by USAID.