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Ludhiana substations face manpower crunch: Amid mounting vacant posts, PSPCL pulls field staff for clerical duties
To resolve the shortage, we will appoint around 300 substation attendants next week, says Punnardeep Brar, chief engineer, protection and maintenance wing of PSPCL
Despite an acute shortage of technical staff at power substations across Ludhiana, the protection and maintenance (P&M) wing of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has diverted several skilled field workers to desk-based clerical duties, officials aware of the matter said.
Technical staff, including regular teammates, assistant substation attendants and junior engineers, who are primarily responsible for fault rectification and ensuring uninterrupted power supply, are now handling paperwork at offices such as the chief engineer’s office in Sarabha Nagar, the superintendent engineer’s office and the operation and maintenance division in Miller Ganj.
The redeployment has added to the burden on the remaining workforce at substations, many of which are operating with just one worker per shift.
Department officials said employees often exceed 200 working hours per month, nearly double the prescribed 115 hours, as they manage emergencies, breakdowns and routine maintenance under high pressure.
According to official data, 160 of 286 sanctioned technical posts (56 %) remain vacant at the power utility. The shortage is most severe among substation attendants, with 108 of 192 posts unfilled, followed by assistant linemen (11 of 24 posts) and regular teammates (41 of 70 posts).
Union leaders said the shortage directly affects power supply stability and worker safety, particularly during peak load periods and emergencies.
P&M wing officials explained that the shortage of clerical staff in offices has forced them to assign technical workers to desk-based duties.
Rashpal Singh Pali, deputy general secretary of the PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC) said, “The P&M wing’s (Ludhiana office) also faces staffing constraints. Being the state head office of the wing, it oversees substations across Punjab. The number of sanctioned clerical posts here is extremely low, leaving officials with no option but to use available technical staff for desk based roles,” he said.
Chief engineer (P&M) Punnardeep Brar said, “We have only two to three clerical staff in my office to handle all documentation work. The sanctioned strength of clerical staff in the central zone is just seven to eight, whereas other PSPCL zones have 25 to 30 clerical posts.”
Union leaders and Grid Sangharsh Committee members said the redeployment of skilled staff has left substations overstretched, with workers often working without weekly offs or gazetted holidays.
While office work continues smoothly, on-ground staff are handling emergencies and breakdowns under extreme pressure, Brar said. “To resolve the shortage of manpower on the ground, we are going to appoint around 300 substation attendants next week,” Brar added.
