Indian Power and Energy corporations fight COVID-19 with drones and giant fog cannons

As the COVID-19 cases are on a rapid surge with the total tally nearing 24 lakh across the country, the energy companies in the country have been coming up with various innovative precautionary measures to prevent the virus spread and continue with the operations without any hindrance.

In the world's third-largest energy consumer market, the companies have been using drones to monitor social distancing at their refineries while some of the energy companies have been using giant fog cannons which spray disinfectants near staff and workers' quarters.

Indian state-owned coal mining and refining company, Coal India Ltd is using heavy-duty industrial machinery to try and keep the virus in check as the workers in India's coal industry usually live with their families in quarters near the mining areas. Giant mist or fog cannons which were earlier used to suppress the dust which floats due to the trucks, are now also deployed to spray disinfectants across areas inhabited by employees and labourers.

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Bharat Petroleum oil and gas company has deployed drones over vast stretches of land to monitor the employees and workers in order to ensure that social distancing protocol is maintained. The company is also deploying hygiene inspectors at all its plants, according to reports. The company has about 10,000 contract workers at its Kochi refinery. It has started the practice of putting the migrant workers under quarantine before they resume work in the refinery.

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC Limited), India's largest power producer has modified its system to accommodate the requirement of staff members working from home in view of the pandemic. Some of their systems which earlier required physical paper-based contracts and invoices, now shifted to paperless transactions, as per media reports.

Indian Oil Corporation has displayed efficiency and timely action in halting the COVID-19 crisis from further magnifying in its periphery. The company found some COVID-19 cases among the skilled labourers working in its plant at Paradip. Before it could catapult further, the decision-makers quickly isolated the infected persons and tested about 1,600 workers living in the same area. 

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