PSPCL study finds 37% workforce `redundant'
Gurpreet Singh Nibber
CHANDIGARH

PROBLEM OF PLENTY? Three-member committee of power corporation studying proposals of Price Waterhouse Coopers will soon submit report to board for discussions

In a study got conducted by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), about 37% of the sanctioned posts in the board have been found redundant. The study has recommended that the “surplus” employees be shown the door.
The PSPCL is expected to take a decision in this regard shortly when the matter comes up for discussion in the board meeting.

Out of the 77,382 sanctioned posts in PSPCL, 28,615 have been found redundant in a study carried out by Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Interestingly, on the total number of posts found redundant, 21,969 employees are no longer on the power corporation rolls as they have already superannuated.

A three-member committee

of the PSPCL is studying the recommendations and will shortly submit its report before the PSPCL board for discussions.
A major cut has been proposed in the posts of senior executive engineer as PSPCL has been told to do away with 27 of the 544 posts. It has also recommended the freezing of 414 of the 709 sanctioned posts of additional assistant engineer and 117 of the 685 sanctioned posts of assistant executive engineer.

“The recommendations are not final as these are to be discussed threadbare. Such studies are a routine exercise and should not be viewed as antiemployee. It is like a cadre review that we used to have in the past,” said PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director KD Chaudhari.

Meanwhile, 2,378 of the 22,739 posts of assistant lineman were

found redundant, while 2,010 posts of lineman were found deficit.
The erstwhile state electricity board, which come into being in 1959 under the provisions of the electricity supply act of 1948, was unbundled into two corporations, PSPCL and PSTCL (Punjab State Transmission Corporation Ltd), in April 2010.

The consultants were assigned the study in 2007.

Interestingly, out of the 77,382 sanctioned posts in PSPCL, 55,411 are occupied.

The rest of the employees have retired. The consultant has proposed a total strength of 48,767 employees, which implies that only 6,646 posts are surplus. “In case PSPCL stops fresh recruitments, the excess number of employees would retire in about a year,” says the consultant.

The consultant may have recommended a drastic cut in junior-level posts, but there is a rec

ommendation for creating two posts of executive director, who would be placed in the hierarchy between the director and the chief engineer. The consultant has made a recommendation for recruiting 1,004 junior engineers and 399 sub-station attendants.
It has also recommended outsourcing of staff for maintaining office records, security of offices, housekeeping, driving and maintenance of guesthouses.

The cost of employees, power purchase and fuel for generating power constitute the major expenditure of the PSPCL. Interestingly, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission has also asked the PSPCL to cut down employees’ cost.

In the tariff order for year 2011-12, the PSERC allowed Rs 2,917 crore as expenditure on employees as against Rs 3,608 crore proposed by the PSPCL.