As many as 16,718 power complaints remain pending across 19 divisions of the utility’s central zone, PSPCL officials said. The backlog has accumulated since outsourced employees went on strike on July 23, disrupting the processing and routing of complaints to field staff.
The officials said 4,63,590 complaints were registered through the utility’s 1912 helpline across the 19 divisions between July 23 and August 10.
Utility officials indicate that some of these complaints are not reaching the concerned junior engineers (JEs) and linemen through the normal online system, delaying restoration and adding to the backlog on the complaint portal.
Outsourced employees working at Nodal Complaint Centres (NCCs), Customer Response Centres (CRCs), metering laboratories and stores are among those participating in the strike. The NCCs process complaints received through 1912 and forward them to the concerned field staff for restoration work. With manpower at the complaint centres affected by the strike, some complaints are getting stuck before being digitally routed to field teams.
Consumers are consequently waiting for hours and, in several cases, contacting PSPCL offices, SDOs or JEs directly to get their faults attended to.
Suresh Kumar, a Focal Point resident, said, “A power fault in his locality remained unattended despite a complaint being registered through 1912. After waiting for a response, he contacted the local PSPCL office and eventually approached field staff directly.”
{{/usCountry}}Suresh Kumar, a Focal Point resident, said, “A power fault in his locality remained unattended despite a complaint being registered through 1912. After waiting for a response, he contacted the local PSPCL office and eventually approached field staff directly.”
{{/usCountry}}Pankaj Sharma, a Fountain Chowk resident, said, “Consumers are increasingly having to contact JEs or SDOs when complaints registered through 1912 failed to reach the concerned field staff in time.”
“Shreya Jain, a resident under Sundar Nagar division, said, “The delay is particularly problematic during localised faults, when consumers expected the 1912 system to automatically alert the field team responsible for their area.
A junior engineer posted in the central zone said, “Field staff are also facing delays in receiving complaints through the usual online channel. Earlier, a routine fault could generally be attended to within 20 to 30 minutes. Now, in some cases, it takes two to three hours because the information itself does not reach the concerned field staff on time,”
An additional superintendent engineer in one of the central zone divisions said, “Complaints are accumulating on the portal because they were not being digitally routed to JEs and linemen. In several cases, field officials receive fault information directly from consumers through phone calls or WhatsApp and attend to the complaints. However, even after restoration, such complaints can continue to show as pending on the online portal.”
To ensure complaints are not missed altogether, PSPCL has deployed CHB staff at the Nodal Complaint Centres. Complaints received at the centres are being recorded manually in registers, after which the concerned JE or lineman is informed by phone or through other available channels.
PSPCL central zone chief engineer Jagdev Singh Hans said, “The strike by outsourced employees has affected consumer services, but the department is making alternative arrangements to address complaints and keep essential services running.”