Oracle expert Rupendra Bhatnagar addresses ASEB officials in Guwahati on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, April 26: It is not only cricket that the Australians are good at.

An Australian firm has begun ?coaching? the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) executives on how to manage the organisation?s unbundling into five companies. The new structure is part of Dispur?s reforms package.

The Sydney-based Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC) conducted a two-day workshop at the Administrative Staff College here from Sunday. Over 65 officials of the rank of superintendent and above participated in the workshop, which focused on changing the mindset of the officials from technocrats to managers.

?The workshop was an eye-opener. It helped us learn more about our new responsibilities,? one participant said,

ASEB chairman Subhas C. Das and principal secretary (power) S.K. Srivastava set the ball rolling by stressing the need for a smooth transition to a corporate regime.

The ASEB chairman also arranged a demonstration on e-governance for the senior officials today.

The reforms are being carried out with an assistance of $ 250 million from the Asian Development Bank, 90 per cent of which has come to Assam in the form of a grant. The new companies include a generating, transmitting and three distributing centres. The coaching team included Michael Withford, a strategic planner and consultant to SMEC, Prof. Ahindra Chakrabarti and G.S. Das of the International Management Institute.

Das, who also heads the All Assam Tennis Association, said, ?Electricity is an essential service and we have to ensure a smooth transition to the new structure without hampering supply to our customers. The success of the implementation will depend on the ASEB management who will have to act as engines of change. That is why we invited all 75 top executives to the workshop.?

Withford said, ?Ours is a country with huge resources and limited manpower. Therefore, we stress strategic planning and building leadership to get the best out of the existing resources. India, too, has great potential.?