Er. Ashok Thapar, has been appointed as Member (Power) in BBMB by Govt. of India. He joined his new assignment on 21.2.2011. Sh. Thapar holds a Bachelors’ degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering and has to his credit 34 years extensive hands-on experience in middle to senior level management cadre in various aspects of Power Sector viz. planning, design, erection, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of large fossil fired Thermal Power Projects of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB now Punjab State Power Corporation Limited) and medium to large Hydro Power Projects of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). 

Prior to his new  assignment , Er. Thapar is working as Chief Engineer/ Generation in Bhakra Beas Management Board since 10th June, 2010 and was entrusted with the management of all the hydroelectric generation installations of BBMB. BBMB generates around 2865 MW from 28 Hydro Power Stations at Bhakra (Left & Right bank), Ganguwal, Kotla, Dehar and Pong Power houses. The BBMB installations are the back bone of the Northern Grid and provide scarce peaking power to Northern Grid apart from providing additional power during contingencies.

1. CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS (HYDRO EXPERIENCE WITH BBMB); SEPT. 1995 TILL DATE; 14.60 YEARS & CONTINUING. 
There are number of FIRSTS as well success stories during the progress of the career, a few of which are enlisted below:-
A. Director Security: As Director Security, Er. Thapar handled the threat perception (as projected by premier intelligence agencies of the country) to thwart the perceived threats in close consultation with and direction of the Central/ State administrative and intelligence authorities. The Board in its 201st meeting appreciated the efforts made in strengthening the security measures at Bhakra Dam.

Er. Thapar devised a transparent mechanism for finalizing the requirements and its technical specifications (before procurement) by all the stakeholders’ viz. Intelligence Bureau (IB), HP & Punjab Police departments, CISF besides BBMB. It is pertinent to mention that all the stakeholders have lauded this approach. 
B. Director Consultancy: Er. Thapar has been instrumental in establishing the Consultancy Services of BBMB from its inception and has been nurturing it thereafter. Consultancy is now an additional function of BBMB as accorded by Ministry of Power, GOI after seeking concurrence from the partner States of BBMB. He has been a part and parcel of the same in various capacities. Some of the important works undertaken are as under: 
• Cost effective development of 66 KV Sub-Stations on turnkey basis at Sector 56 & Sector 12, Chandigarh on behalf of UT Chandigarh Administration and PGIMER. 
• Expert services for Thermo vision Scanning and Hotline Maintenance of Power Utilities of Haryana and Delhi . 
• Hydrostatic Stretch Test of Hydrogen Gas Cylinders for PSEB through Nangal Mechanical Workshop. 
• Development of Detailed Project Reports of new projects in the BBMB for tapping hydro potential of around 150 MW available within the system. 
• Implementing ISO 9001 & 14001 (Quality and Environment Management Systems) in BBMB. 
• Consultancy regarding Renovation, Modernization and Uprating of Gandhi Sagar Hydroelectric Project for assessing the scope of RLA of their five Machines.
• Consultancy to UJVNL and TNEB for their hydro power stations.

• Endeavors in Promoting New Concepts and Technologies: 
o Clean Development Mechanism: Finalized the initiatives of BBMB for the Carbon Trading under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) through sale of Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) generated on account of the improved efficiency of new machines of the Bhakra Left Bank Project. World Bank has agreed to buy them @ €12 / CER with all expenditure upto registration to be borne by them. With this BBMB would be the first Public Sector organization for achieving this milestone for such type of methodology. Er. Thapar is further promoting this concept to other Power Utilities of the Country to emulate. 
o Instrumental in preparing the road map for replacements and future procurement of protective gear through uniform standard IEC 61850. Introduced State-of-the-art digital protective equipment, instrumentation and diagnostic tools for condition monitoring in the system. 
o Promoted and implemented the concept of ‘Technical Audit’ in BBMB Power Houses for improving the quality of operation & maintenance techniques. This concept is now being promoted at National Level through Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP).

C. Director Human Resource Development: 

• Acted as a mentor to around 13,000 engineers & employees belonging to BBMB and its partner states. 
• Instrumental in promoting the training Institute at Nangal and successfully running training courses since August, 2005 under Distributed Reforms Upgrades & Management (DRUM) program for engineers & technicians of Power Utilities sponsored by Ministry of Power to promote power sector reforms. Punjab , Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh have been the beneficiary states. 
• Organized specialized short term hydro trainings to personnel of Uttranchal Jal Vidhyut Nigam and NTPC.
• Initiated Energy conservation awareness programme for Staff and their families under National Campaign on Energy Conservation. He has been the nodal officer for handling the painting competition of children from the States of Punjab, Haryana and U.T. Chandigarh.

D. Planning & Design:

• Established the Controls, Instrumentation and Protection design and procurement cell especially created for R,M&U program of BBMB. 
• Successfully carried out the in-house water/power regulation study. This triggered the R,M&U of Bhakra Left Bank Power House thereby enhancing its capacity from 5 x108 MW to 5 x126 MW.
• Introduced computerization and office automation for improving the efficiency of day to day office work.

Career Accomplishments (Thermal Sector): December 1976 to September 1995; 15.41 Years
Er. Thapar joined Punjab State Electricity Board in the 1977 and was entrusted challenging assignments in Controls & Instrumentation (C&I) division. He has been responsible for erection, testing, commissioning and maintenance of both conventional type & Distributed Data Control type of Controls, Instrumentation & Protection equipment at 4 x 110 MW (unit 3 & 4) at GNDTP, Bathinda and 6 x 210 MW at GGSSTP at Ropar. Handled the most sophisticated State-of-the-art equipment from Siemens, KWU, Hartmann & Braun – West Germany, Westinghouse Electric Corporation- USA and Instrumentation Ltd., BHEL- India. He was an important part of the team in establishing the national records of erection and commissioning of units at thermal project at Ropar.

Er. Thapar Indigenously developed and improvised conventional and microprocessor based Instrumentation equipment as import substitution (which was the need of the hour at that time).

Career Accomplishments (General):
Er. Thapar has participated jointly with CEA, NHPC and SJVNL to address the issues impeding the smooth running of Nathpa Jhakri Power House project and offer recommendations /solutions thereof. Since then, the project has been performing very well. He has been awarded Citations and Letters of Appreciation for meritorious services. Er Thapar has undergone the following specialized Trainings and Study Tours abroad:

• Westinghouse Electric Corporation – USA on their WDPF range of specialized Controls, Instrumentation and Protection equipment.
• Siemens- West Germany in their specialized products for large Turbines and Generators.
• Hartmann & Braun- West Germany in their specialized products for large fossil fired boilers.
• KWU- West Germany in their specialized products for large Turbines and Generators.
• Study Tour to Australia & New Zealand regarding Hydrology Project. 
• CIGRE session in Sydney , Australia in the year 2003.

Personal
56 years old (Date of Birth: 8th Sept. 1954), married, having three children, healthy and energetic, having keen interest and awareness in emerging technologies, interested in sports, music, reading and social work.