Chennai: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Structural Engineering Research Centre (CSIR-SERC), Chennai, has signed a technology licensing agreement with Kolkata-based IAC Electricals Private Limited for the Emergency Retrieval System (ERS) designed to restore power supply swiftly after transmission line failures.

The agreement was signed between Dr (Smt) N. Anandavalli, Director, CSIR-SERC, and Shri Adarsh Garodia, Managing Director, IAC Electricals Private Limited. The event also witnessed the presence of Mr Kemparaju, Assistant Vice President, IAC Electricals, along with several senior scientists from CSIR-SERC including Dr K. Sathish Kumar, Dr S. Parivallal, Dr M.B. Anoop, Dr P. Harikrishna, and Dr Rajendra Pitambar Rokade—the inventor of the technology.

The ERS is a lightweight, modular system that acts as a temporary support structure to restore electricity within 2-3 days following the collapse of transmission towers due to natural disasters like cyclones or earthquakes, or other disruptions. In contrast, permanent restoration may take weeks.

This indigenous technology is expected to significantly reduce dependence on costly imports—estimated to be nearly 60% higher than the locally developed ERS. With limited global manufacturers and high costs, the domestically developed ERS offers a cost-effective and rapid response solution to mitigate outage-related losses.

The initiative is aligned with the Make in India vision and is expected to boost local manufacturing capabilities in power infrastructure restoration.