The next power secretary is likely to be chosen from the corporate sector outside any of the administrative services cadres.
The Union power ministry is presently considering R V Shahi who is currently chairman of Bombay Surban Electric Supply Company (BSES) as a possible successor to V K Pandit who is due to retire this month.
Confirming this, official sources said that Shahi has already been sounded off for the prime post but, however, clarified that the appointments committee is yet to approve Shahi's name for the post.
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Pandit had taken over as the power secretary in July 1998 after EAS Sarma was shifted to finance ministry as the expenditure secretary.
Due to transition the power sector is presently undergoing, sources said a technocrat who has experienced both the corporate as well as the government side would be best suited for the post.
This is the second time that the government is considering a technocrat (outside the administrative services) for the post of power secretary after DV Kapoor who was the power secretary in early eighties. DV Kapoor took over the post of power secretary after being the chairman of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
Shahi was also earlier with the NTPC as director technical before shifting to the corporate sector as the chairman and managing director of BSES around 1995.