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Ludhiana: PSPCL seeks police cover for 92 substations after repeated attacks on staff
The move comes amid an acute shortage of technical manpower, compounded by an ongoing employee agitation that has further reduced the availability of trained field staff
After more than 10 incidents of assault, abuse and vandalism at grid substations this summer, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has sought police protection and regular patrolling for all 92 substations under its Central Zone, saying repeated attacks on engineers and field staff responding to outages have emerged as a serious operational and law-and-order concern.
The move comes amid an acute shortage of technical manpower, compounded by an ongoing employee agitation that has further reduced the availability of trained field staff. As a result, sub-divisional officers (SDOs), executive engineers (XENs) and other senior officials have increasingly been supervising and undertaking field operations to restore electricity supply during breakdowns.
Central Zone chief engineer Jagdev Singh Hans has written to the Ludhiana police commissioner and the senior superintendents of police of Jagraon, Khanna, Patiala, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib, seeking regular police patrolling at vulnerable substations and immediate security whenever PSPCL teams are deployed to restore power.
“The safety of employees working at grid substations has become a major concern. They remain on duty round the clock to ensure uninterrupted power supply, but repeated attacks are making it increasingly difficult for them to discharge their responsibilities,” Hans said.
According to Hans, the Central Zone has 92 grid substations, including 39 within Ludhiana city, while the remaining are spread across suburban Ludhiana and the Khanna circle. Most substations operate with only one or two employees per shift, leaving them vulnerable whenever agitated consumers gather following prolonged power outages.
Officials said grid substations, rather than complaint centres, have increasingly become the first point of contact for consumers frustrated by prolonged power outages.
According to PSPCL officials, during peak summer demand, restoration often takes longer because of manpower shortages and the technical complexity involved in locating and rectifying faults. The delays have increasingly led to agitated consumers reaching grid substations directly, where the limited staff on duty often bears the brunt of public anger.
“Heated arguments at substations have, on several occasions this summer, escalated into physical assaults on employees and damage to government property,” they said.
Among the incidents reported this summer are alleged attacks at Lalton Kalan, Adda Dakha, Noorwala, Sahnewal and Dugri grid substations. According to PSPCL officials, employees were abused and assaulted while attending power complaints, and government property was damaged in some cases.
The latest incident occurred on Wednesday night at the Dugri grid substation, where an SDO was allegedly assaulted while on duty. A complaint has been lodged with the Dugri police station and the department has sought strict action against those responsible.
The repeated attacks have also prompted the PSEB Engineers’ Association to issue operational advisories to its members. In circulars issued on July 20 and July 24, the association advised engineers to prioritise personal safety, avoid undertaking work in unsafe situations and strictly follow prescribed safety protocols while attending emergencies.
The association has also urged the managements of PSPCL and the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) to arrange regular police protection and patrolling at all grid substations and distribution offices. It has sought deployment of at least two employees in every shift, enforcement of an eight-hour duty roster, timely relief for engineers engaged in emergency duties and withdrawal of non-departmental assignments so that technical staff can focus on maintaining electricity supply.
Union leaders said the recurring attacks have created fear among field employees already working under severe manpower constraints. They maintained that while engineers remain committed to restoring power, they cannot be expected to perform emergency duties in an environment where their safety is under constant threat.
Officials said the issue extends beyond employee welfare and directly affects consumers, as every attack on grid personnel disrupts restoration work, delays fault rectification and diverts manpower to law-and-order issues.
“Our responsibility is to restore power as quickly as possible. But if the personnel carrying out emergency work themselves come under attack, it inevitably affects response time and electricity supply,” a senior PSPCL official said.
