Newly appointed chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, on Friday visited the power utility’s headquarters in Patiala and held his first meeting with directors and senior officials, directing them to ensure uninterrupted and reliable electricity supply across the state.
His visit comes days after the Punjab government replaced former power secretary and PSPCL CMD Basant Garg amid a deepening power crisis, marked by prolonged power cuts affecting domestic, agricultural and industrial consumers.
The government on September 14 assigned additional charge of the power department and the two-state power corporations to Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a 2001-batch IAS officer. The administrative reshuffle came amid protests by farmers and industrialists over erratic and prolonged power cuts.
During the meeting, the new CMD reviewed the functioning of PSPCL and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) and sought details from officials on electricity demand and supply, power generation and purchases, the performance of thermal power plants, coal availability, transmission and distribution arrangements, and electricity billing.
During the meeting, the CMD said providing uninterrupted and reliable electricity to domestic and commercial consumers across Punjab was a key priority. He also stressed the need to ensure eight hours of uninterrupted power supply to farmers for agricultural activities as per the prescribed schedule.
{{/usCountry}}During the meeting, the CMD said providing uninterrupted and reliable electricity to domestic and commercial consumers across Punjab was a key priority. He also stressed the need to ensure eight hours of uninterrupted power supply to farmers for agricultural activities as per the prescribed schedule.
{{/usCountry}}He directed officials to strengthen and streamline power generation, transmission and distribution systems in view of the state’s electricity demand. He also called for continuous monitoring of thermal plant performance, coal availability and power purchases.
The CMD further directed officials to ensure the prompt resolution of issues related to domestic, agricultural and commercial power supply and strengthen field-level monitoring. He asked them to actively address consumer complaints and work towards improving the quality of power services.
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