An official spokesman said additional chief engineer S B Lele will head the cell which will advice consumers on energy conservation and detect leakages, thereby minimising transmission and distribution losses.

The spokesman said the decision to empower superintending engineers to settle civil suits up to Rs 1 lakh was expected to expedite 26,000 cases involving Rs 128 crore.

It was announced at the board meeting that GEB had achieved an all-time record by attaining 82 per cent plant load factor in May. All the meter readers in the north and south zones have been transferred and those in Saurashtra will be transferred after post-cyclone restoration is completed.

The Board also decided to standardise the cost, quality of purchase and planning of distribution of single phase meters to monitor performance for revenue generation. A fire-fighting force will be headed by the fire officer and assisted by five firemen, two helpers and two fire drivers. The Board also doubled the daily allowance those involved in restoration in the cyclone-hit areas.

The spokesman said a centralised computerised networking would be introduced at the head office to monitor the status of low and high tension billing, purchase planning, coal claims and stores inventory. The Board also decided to stop purchasing electricity poles from Rajasthan and Maharashtra electricity boards as these were found costlier. The purchase was to be made in wake of the damage to poles during the cyclone.

Meanwhile, GEB requested the Government to reimburse the expenditure incurred on running diesel generating sets at Bet Dwarka. Power supply round-the-clock will cost GEB Rs 26 lakh.

The spokesman said that on the Centre's request, GEB agreed to lay 6.5-km underground cable line to Kandla with Ahmedabad Electricity Company's (AEC) help to start petroleum operations.