Ludhiana: Sultry weather, outsourced staff strike strain PSPCL

According to PSPCL officials, the fault was traced to a damaged jumper connection on the yellow phase near Tower No. 34 close to the Ladowal bypass

Even as the PSPCL continues to invest in feeder augmentation, transformer upgrades and network strengthening projects, recurring technical faults coupled with the ongoing strike by outsourced employees have exposed gaps in the power utility’s ability to respond swiftly to outages during periods of peak demand.

Many complaints are either reaching field staff late or not being forwarded through the system on time, delaying fault rectification and extending outage durations. (HT FILE)

The latest disruption occurred late Friday night when a technical fault developed in the Hambhran–Baloke 66 kV transmission line, leading to the shutdown of the Baloke 66 kV substation and affecting power supply to all connected 11 kV feeders. The outage came amid rising electricity demand driven by intense heat and humidity, leaving residents in Baloke and adjoining areas without power for several hours.

According to PSPCL officials, the fault was traced to a damaged jumper connection on the yellow phase near Tower No. 34 close to the Ladowal bypass. Restoration teams rushed to the site and initially attempted to restore supply through an alternate route.

However, when the effort failed, engineers carried out repairs at the fault location itself and restored the line around 3 am, after which supply to the affected feeders resumed.

While faults have always been a challenge during peak demand periods, this time consumers are facing an additional hurdle, delays in complaint handling due to the ongoing strike by outsourced employees working at PSPCL’s Nodal Complaint Centres (NCCs). The NCCs serve as the utility’s complaint-management backbone, receiving complaints lodged through the 1912 helpline and forwarding them to the concerned junior engineers and field staff for action. However, with outsourced NCC employees on strike since July 23, the process has slowed considerably.

As a result, many complaints are either reaching field staff late or not being forwarded through the system on time, delaying fault rectification and extending outage durations.

A PSPCL executive engineer, requesting anonymity, said the issue extends beyond technical faults.“Normally, complaints registered through NCCs are automatically assigned to the concerned JE and field staff. Due to the strike, that chain has been disrupted. In several cases, complaints are not reaching the concerned officials on time, which delays fault rectification. Consumers often believe field staff are not responding, whereas sometimes the complaint itself has not been forwarded through the system,” the officer said.

The recurring disruptions come despite PSPCL’s ongoing infrastructure expansion programme, under which new feeders have been commissioned, transformers upgraded and substations strengthened across the region. The same officer said that while network capacity has improved significantly, reliability remains vulnerable during periods of heavy loading.

“The system is carrying exceptionally high demand because of the prevailing weather conditions. Infrastructure upgrades improve capacity, but faults can still occur due to jumper failures, conductor damage, equipment wear and other technical issues. The real challenge is maintaining reliability while the network operates under sustained pressure,” he said.

PSPCL’s latest outage records also indicate that equipment-related failures continue to remain a major cause of supply interruptions. The utility’s outage monitoring system recently recorded a feeder outage in the Central Zone’s Agar Nagar division due to 11 kV line jumper damage, highlighting how technical faults continue to affect power supply despite ongoing upgrades.