Staff crunch hits PSPCL functioning

The PSPCL Department here is struggling due to staff shortage in its branches. Since the extreme weather conditions have started showing impact, the demand of power is going to increase manifolds in the city.

In the absence of a balance between demand and supply, power cuts and snags will likely to be witnessed. Sadly, the department had been facing shortage of field staff to rectify power failures. The data available with the PSPCL shows that against the total 4,964 sanctioned posts of linemen and assistant linemen, the department has just 1,313 regular field staff. Though the services of about 1,200 contractual field staff are also being taken by the department through outsourcing, there is a shortage of 50 per cent staff.

Besides linemen and assistant linemen, there is also about 50 per cent shortage of Junior Engineers. In Ludhiana, there are 467 sanctioned posts of JEs and the department is managing affairs with just 233 JEs to cater to four huge circles – Ludhiana East, Ludhiana West, Suburban and Khanna circle. The linemen, assistant Linemen and JEs are supposed to be in the field to check and rectify snags and other issues but in the absence of sufficient number of staff, it takes much time to resolve the problems.

One of the officials of the department said recently, a commercial vehicle had uprooted a major electricity pole on Karabara Road. Since it was a major pole, 10 other poles attached to it were affected and about 3,000 consumers in the entire Salem Tabri and the Karabara Road area had to suffer for about 10-12 hours. “Many field staff were put on the job to rectify the issue. But had there been more staff, the problem could be resolved in three-four hours. We are also helpless and in such situations, we face the wrath of consumers”, the official said.

The department also faces issues when contractual staff go on strikes and protests. In the past few months, the contractual staff went on strike for several days and the regular works suffered. Though the contractual workers are hired by private players on an outsourcing basis, they sit on dharnas, protests against the PSPCL Department for their demands.

The Chief Engineer, PSPCL, here Jagdev Singh Hans said in scorching summers, power-related problems are multiplied. “But we are managing everything with limited staff. All four circles are having vast areas but we are able to perform in the best possible manner. We are also requesting higher-ups to provide more staff. Consumers need to understand our genuine problem of staff shortage and support us,” he said.

Ludhiana