PSEB had a staggering debt of Rs. 16000 crore with fiscal deficit at Rs. 9000 crore. The market value of the total assets of PSEB is about Rs. 30,000 crore. The new companies would start from zero balance and would not inherit the legacy of the financial mess.
The engineers' associations have finally welcomed the move as the government has allayed the apprehensions of the stakeholders like the employees and the farmers. The government has convinced them that it was mainly the management system which had undergone a change and these sections would not be affected in any manner. The service conditions of the employees would remain the same. The farmers would continue to enjoy the facility of free power for the farm sector. Dalit households would also get the same facility of free power as earlier. The government took pains to make the situation transparent saying it was not privatisation but only corporatisation.
However, Dr. Joginder Dayal, member of the CPI national executive would not share this perception of the state government saying, “It is just the first step towards privatisation. Moreover, the states where the power boards have already been dissolved have not benefited in any manner and the consumers have to cough up more than before”. West Bengal has already implemented the Electricity Act, 2003 where the CPI is a partner in the government. Of course, power tariff is much higher in neighbouring Haryana where the power board was trifurcated much earlier. However, there are some states in India where unbundling of the power supply board has been a spectacular success.
As per the policy announced by the state government, the chiefs of the two companies, along with the directors, would be appointed through an open process. The criteria for the selection are being given final touches. The Chief Secretary heads the committee for this purpose. Of course, the final decision would be taken by the political leadership. Powercom would have a total of eight directors, one each for generation, distribution, commercial, finance, human resources development and general administration, besides two nominees from the state government. The other company, Transco, would have four directors.
IAS officer Anurag Aggarwal, who heads the two power companies as part of an interim arrangement, says: “The new teams would comprise professionals and experts from the technical cadre. The teams would have the required capability and clear mandate to take the performance of the power sector to the higher level of efficiency."
Punjab was the first state to achieve total rural electrification. However, of late, the quality of power has been very poor. Though the farm sector is being provided free power for more than a decade, the supply has been erratic. Even urban areas are subjected to long power cuts and the situation is worse during the peak load demand as generation has been stagnant for about a decade. Now it is to be seen as to how much functional autonomy the two new companies enjoy. The state government would have to ensure timely payment of subsidy on account of free power supply to different sections of society for the success of power reforms, apart from taking other required measures. Mere restructuring in itself is unlikely to achieve the pupose.
The industry has welcomed this initiative of the Badal government. Regional chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council SC Ralhan says: “The move would definitely be a great benefit to the industry. However, the situation would become clear in the coming months. Of course, it has opened up the power sector in the state as mandated by the Electricity Act. It is the work culture which also needs to be changed by introducing better accountability at every level.”
The engineers' associations have finally welcomed the move as the government has allayed the apprehensions of the stakeholders like the employees and the farmers. The government has convinced them that it was mainly the management system which had undergone a change and these sections would not be affected in any manner. The service conditions of the employees would remain the same. The farmers would continue to enjoy the facility of free power for the farm sector. Dalit households would also get the same facility of free power as earlier. The government took pains to make the situation transparent saying it was not privatisation but only corporatisation.
However, Dr. Joginder Dayal, member of the CPI national executive would not share this perception of the state government saying, “It is just the first step towards privatisation. Moreover, the states where the power boards have already been dissolved have not benefited in any manner and the consumers have to cough up more than before”. West Bengal has already implemented the Electricity Act, 2003 where the CPI is a partner in the government. Of course, power tariff is much higher in neighbouring Haryana where the power board was trifurcated much earlier. However, there are some states in India where unbundling of the power supply board has been a spectacular success.
As per the policy announced by the state government, the chiefs of the two companies, along with the directors, would be appointed through an open process. The criteria for the selection are being given final touches. The Chief Secretary heads the committee for this purpose. Of course, the final decision would be taken by the political leadership. Powercom would have a total of eight directors, one each for generation, distribution, commercial, finance, human resources development and general administration, besides two nominees from the state government. The other company, Transco, would have four directors.
IAS officer Anurag Aggarwal, who heads the two power companies as part of an interim arrangement, says: “The new teams would comprise professionals and experts from the technical cadre. The teams would have the required capability and clear mandate to take the performance of the power sector to the higher level of efficiency."
Punjab was the first state to achieve total rural electrification. However, of late, the quality of power has been very poor. Though the farm sector is being provided free power for more than a decade, the supply has been erratic. Even urban areas are subjected to long power cuts and the situation is worse during the peak load demand as generation has been stagnant for about a decade. Now it is to be seen as to how much functional autonomy the two new companies enjoy. The state government would have to ensure timely payment of subsidy on account of free power supply to different sections of society for the success of power reforms, apart from taking other required measures. Mere restructuring in itself is unlikely to achieve the pupose.
The industry has welcomed this initiative of the Badal government. Regional chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council SC Ralhan says: “The move would definitely be a great benefit to the industry. However, the situation would become clear in the coming months. Of course, it has opened up the power sector in the state as mandated by the Electricity Act. It is the work culture which also needs to be changed by introducing better accountability at every level.”
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