Ludhiana: Technical staff shortage impedes power supply
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in Ludhiana is facing one of the highest vacancy rates in the state, with 75.9% of linemen and assistant linemen positions unfilled; of the 4,963 sanctioned posts for these technical roles, 3,767 remain vacant
Some parts of the city, including City West, Model Town, Aggar Nagar, and Focal Point, faced unscheduled power cuts that lasted for hours, this week. The soaring temperatures and intense sandstorms added to the power woes. The officials have attributed these frequent power cuts to delayed maintenance work as a key factor, which are further exacerbated by a severe shortage of technical staff.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in Ludhiana is facing one of the highest vacancy rates in the state, with 75.9% of linemen and assistant linemen positions unfilled. Of the 4,963 sanctioned posts for these technical roles, 3,767 remain vacant. This severe understaffing, combined with high power demand in the city, has placed immense pressure on the existing workforce, leading to delays in maintenance and an inability to resolve outages swiftly, officials noted.
According to official data, PSPCL across Punjab faces a staggering shortage of 24,197 vacancies out of a total of 34,624 positions for technical staff, further complicating the corporation’s ability to maintain a reliable power supply.
Officials noted that Ludhiana, being an industrial city, there is already an immense pressure on the existing power infrastructure. The growing industrial load exacerbates the demand for power, which, when coupled with adverse weather conditions, frequently leads to faults in the system. However, due to the shortage of technical staff, fixing these faults takes longer, causing a significant surge in consumer complaints. The ageing power system, already struggling with increased demand, further contributes to frequent and prolonged outages, particularly during the recent heatwave and sandstorms.
To address these challenges, PSPCL, through its works tendering and development (WTD) committee, has floated a proposal on April 11 to outsource the maintenance of HT/LT lines. This proposal aims to expedite repairs and improve the efficiency of the maintenance process. The outsourcing will be carried out through a finalised tender for labour outsourcing in the respective distribution zones.
As per the proposal, contractors will execute maintenance work under the supervision of junior engineers (JEs), and all activities will be documented with before-and-after photographs for record. These records will be preserved for at least one year for potential inspections by higher authorities. Additionally, monthly reports will be generated to assess the work executed, expenditures incurred, and an analysis of feeder breakdowns compared to the same period last year.
Chief engineer Jagdev Singh Hans acknowledged the city’s growing consumer base and emphasised that while the capacity of power lines and transformers has expanded, the technical workforce required to support this growth has not kept pace. “We are managing the situation by relying on contractual staff, which, though helpful, is limited in number and cannot fully meet the demand.”
