PSEB dissolved

Manpreet Randhawa [email protected]
CHANDIGARH:

As part of power sector reforms across the coun- try, the Punjab government on Thursday finally decided to dis- solve the 62-year-old Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) in accordance with the Central Electricity Act, 2003.

The government, after seek- ing 17 extensions from the Centre, decided to bifurcate PSEB into Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Powercom) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (Transco).

While Powercom will man- age the generation and distri- bution of electricity, Transco will take care of transmission.
Both will remain under admin- istrative control of the Punjab government, assured Chief Secretary S.C. Aggarwal.

The Council of Ministers decided to bifurcate the PSEB at a meeting here. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who chaired it, said Punjab had no option but to abide by the Central Electricity Act.

He said the bifurcation would make it more efficient, account- able and responsive to con- sumer needs.

To begin with, Powercom will absorb 65,000 employees of PSEB, while the remaining will be adjusted in Transco.
Aggarwal said initially all PSEB employees will be absorbed in Powercom. Later, they could be transferred to Transco on deputation, vol- untarily or according to requirement.

The authority to appoint chairman-cum-managing direc- tors and directors of both the corporations will continue to wrest with the government.
Powercom and Transco will have six and two direc- tors, respectively, besides one CMD each.

Aggarwal said the govern- ment would appoint directors from among PSEB employees.
“All directors will have to be technocrats. In case of CMD, a bureaucrat could be appoint- ed due to non-availability of a suitable technocrat.“

Aggarwal said after restruc- turing of PSEB, the balance sheets of both the corporations would be kept transparent.
Uninterrupted power supply and consumer services would help the corporations procure better monetary help from var- ious financial institutions, he added.

PSEB has a debt of Rs 16,000 crore and its fiscal deficit is Rs 9,000 crore. As per its own accounts, PSEB has assets worth Rs 10,000 crore. However, the preliminary re-evaluation of PSEB assets has been calculated to be around Rs 30,000 crore. RS 300 CR FROM CENTRE Under restructuring, Punjab will get Rs 300 crore from the Centre to carry out the Energy Audit programme in the newly- formed corporations With its help, the corporations will be able to monitor and assess power generation, trans- mission and distribution to vari- ous grids and sub-stations.
They will also be able to min- imise transmission and distribu- tion losses and check theft

Aggarwal also clarified that contrary to popular percep- tion, there would be no hike in power tariff. The Punjab gov- ernment will also continue to grant subsidy to farmers and those in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.

There will also be no change in the service conditions in recruitment and post-retire- ment. PSEB employees and retirees will continue to get all benefits. It will take six weeks to trans- fer the assets and other liabil- ities of PSEB to the two cor- porations.

The Chief Minister will con- stitute a three-member com- mittee to oversee the smooth transition.

The Punjab government will get the two corporations reg- istered at New Delhi with the Registrar of Companies. And a day after, it will issue a noti- fication to officially declare the dissolution of PSEB.