Disciplinary actions after CMD appointment trigger standoff between Punjab power dept, PSEB engineers

Just two days after taking charge, on November 2, Dr Garg issued suspension orders for Harish Sharma, Chief Engineer, Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, and Guru Amardas Thermal Plant, Goindwal Sahib. On November 4, he issued another order terminating the services of Harjeet Singh, Director (Generation), PSPCL.

The rapid decisions triggered an unprecedented standoff. Over November 6 and 7, PSEBEA members held gate rallies outside thermal plants in Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat, accusing the political leadership of interfering in technical operations. Engineers’ bodies have warned of adopting a “work-to-rule” approach, under which employees will switch off official phones after working hours and avoid overtime — a move that could potentially disrupt thermal power generation.

The confrontation comes at a time when the PSPCL is pursuing an ambitious goal of achieving “zero power outages” by March 2026, a target the engineers say requires stable and technically strong leadership.

The backdrop

The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), set up in 1959 under the Electricity (Supply) Act, handled generation, transmission and distribution of power for more than five decades. As part of reforms aligned with the Electricity Act, 2003, the state government unbundled PSEB on April 16, 2010 into PSPCL (generation and distribution) and PSTCL (transmission).

In June 2010, the then SAD–BJP government appointed the first CMD of the two corporations: K D Chaudhary, an engineer promoted from within the department. Chaudhary served until March 2017, and his tenure was extended till February 2019. He stepped down days after the Congress government assumed office.

Chaudhary was succeeded by IAS officer A Venuprasad until December 2018 when the Captain Amarinder Singh government appointed technocrat Baldev Singh Sran from within the PSPCL. Sra retired on February 7, 2025. He was followed by IAS officer Ajoy Sinha, and now another IAS officer, Dr Basant Garg, holds the charge.

PSEBEA letter flags ‘technical need’, questions eligibility

In its letter dated October 31 to the Chief Minister, the PSEBEA wrote: “Our main objective remains the healthiness of the Punjab Power Sector and the association has always given our unbiased view on the matters concerning the Punjab Power Sector. Sir, the selection process to fill-up the posts of key decision makers i.e. CMD/PSPCL was started, but the power department has been unable to complete the selection process till date. Now vide orders dated 30/10/2025, the charge of CMD PSPCL and CMD PSTCL has been given to newly appointed Secretary Power.”

The letter added: “PSPCL has set an ambitious and much needed target of achieving ‘Zero Power Outages’ by March 2026. To realise this goal, focused and technically competent leadership is indispensable. It is practically not feasible for Secretary level officer, who is entrusted with multiple important administrative assignments and may have limited or no prior experience in the power sector, to devote the level of technical and managerial attention that these organisations critically require.”

Furthermore, the association wished to draw attention to the fact that assigning the charge of CMD, PSPCL, to a secretary-level officer is inconsistent with the qualifications prescribed under the prevailing Government of Punjab notification and it must be a principal secretary at least. This ad-hoc arrangement will not only disrupt the informed decision-making process on these crucial technical positions but also create a sense of uncertainty and instability in the power sector.”

It said, “The Association, therefore, earnestly requests that regular technocrat CMDs be appointed for both PSPCL and PSTCL to ensure dedicated, experienced, and technical leadership capable of effectively steering these corporations. The power sector constitutes a vital public service, and any form of undue political interference in its technical operations, day-to-day functioning, procurement processes or Board agendas may seriously undermine its efficiency and long-term stability of the power sector.”

When contacted, former CMD K D Chaudhary declined to comment on the ongoing controversy, but said, “Yes, definitely a technocrat is always better than a bureaucrat to understand the technical details.” Chaudhary has consistently advocated for technocrats to lead the utilities.

‘Bureaucrats don’t have the expertise of engineers’

A senior power engineer, requesting anonymity, said, “The real complexity of the sector lies in distribution, where long-time professionals have hands-on experience. Bureaucrats don’t have that expertise which the engineers have who start their profession as junior engineers and many rose up to chief engineers and further directors or CMDs as well. Taking action on HoDs has never even happened in either PSEB or PSPCL or PSTCL in the past. It is a new era now where engineers are being treated like this … unbelievable,” he said.

Last week, Punjab Power Minister Sanjeev Arora had stated that because the government holds 100 per cent equity in PSPCL and PSTCL, the utilities remain fully accountable to it, even though they function as autonomous bodies.