As opposition to the move subsides, the bankrupt Punjab State Electricity Board is bifurcated, setting in motion a long-overdue process of power sector reforms, reports Jagtar Singh
“Which is the place where people feel happy for 15 minutes every four hours?” This was the question in an SMS circulated widely some time ago. The answer, of course, was: “Punjab”! This has been the state of power for the common man in the state and the ruling party used power subsidies as a pawn for gathering votes. Thus there was grave resistance for a long time to the unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). But now the state is finally moving towards progressive reform in the power sector.
Though the high tension wires emitted danger signals for months, sparks did not fly as the Punjab government finally went ahead to unplug the six-decade-old PSEB to set in motion the process of power reforms. It has set up two news bodies under the Electricity Act, 2003 replacing the monolith which was considered overstaffed, corrupt, inefficient and financially bankrupt.
The state had virtually turned into a garrison with the army on standby and central forces and police out in strength to maintain law and order. They kept the system running in the wake of the two-day strike call given by various PSEB employees' unions who had the support from 22 other organisations representing the farmers, landless labourers and other toiling sections.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, after 17 extensions from the Centre since the Electricity Act became effective, finally decided to go ahead with the much-needed power sector reforms and brought it on the agenda of the state cabinet, which met on April 15 morning to bifurcate the PSEB into Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Powercom) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (Transco). Badal said after the meeting, “The bifurcation would make the power system more efficient, accountable and responsive to the consumer needs”.
Interestingly, only last month, power engineers had urged Badal to bail out the PSEB from the financial mess it was caught in. It was virtually on the verge of a collapse. Due to the financial crisis, ongoing works had been affected as payments to contractors and suppliers had been stopped.
Even the reimbursement of medical and other bills of the employees had been stopped and payments from the provident fund account too were not being made to those on the rolls. PSEB had been running up losses that amounted to Rs 1800 crore during 2006-07, Rs. 1611 crore in the succeeding year and the like. The losses were estimated to be Rs. 2300 crore during the last financial year.
“Which is the place where people feel happy for 15 minutes every four hours?” This was the question in an SMS circulated widely some time ago. The answer, of course, was: “Punjab”! This has been the state of power for the common man in the state and the ruling party used power subsidies as a pawn for gathering votes. Thus there was grave resistance for a long time to the unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). But now the state is finally moving towards progressive reform in the power sector.
Though the high tension wires emitted danger signals for months, sparks did not fly as the Punjab government finally went ahead to unplug the six-decade-old PSEB to set in motion the process of power reforms. It has set up two news bodies under the Electricity Act, 2003 replacing the monolith which was considered overstaffed, corrupt, inefficient and financially bankrupt.
The state had virtually turned into a garrison with the army on standby and central forces and police out in strength to maintain law and order. They kept the system running in the wake of the two-day strike call given by various PSEB employees' unions who had the support from 22 other organisations representing the farmers, landless labourers and other toiling sections.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, after 17 extensions from the Centre since the Electricity Act became effective, finally decided to go ahead with the much-needed power sector reforms and brought it on the agenda of the state cabinet, which met on April 15 morning to bifurcate the PSEB into Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Powercom) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (Transco). Badal said after the meeting, “The bifurcation would make the power system more efficient, accountable and responsive to the consumer needs”.
Interestingly, only last month, power engineers had urged Badal to bail out the PSEB from the financial mess it was caught in. It was virtually on the verge of a collapse. Due to the financial crisis, ongoing works had been affected as payments to contractors and suppliers had been stopped.
Even the reimbursement of medical and other bills of the employees had been stopped and payments from the provident fund account too were not being made to those on the rolls. PSEB had been running up losses that amounted to Rs 1800 crore during 2006-07, Rs. 1611 crore in the succeeding year and the like. The losses were estimated to be Rs. 2300 crore during the last financial year.
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