The PSEB Engineers' Association, during its general body meeting in Patiala on Monday, condemned political interference and recent arbitrary actions by the Punjab government and PSPCL, while discussing emerging challenges to the stability and autonomy of the state power sector.
Opposition to Government Moves
The meeting opposed the government's move to sell power sector properties and assets, highlighted hurdles in the progress of the 2x800 MW units at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant in Ropar, and strongly objected to the proposed anti-consumer Electricity Amendment Bill 2025. Deep concern was expressed over the grant of lower initial pay to newly recruited assistant engineers.
Demand for Old Pension Scheme
Furthermore, the association demanded restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and urged the state government to allow power corporations to grant full regular pay scales to new recruits.
The president of the PSEB Engineers' Association, Jasvir Singh Dhiman, emphasised that while engineers and employees remained dedicated to public service, they would not allow the future of the power sector to be compromised by non-technical and politically motivated decisions. He urged the chief minister to intervene for restoring stability in the sector and upholding professional autonomy.
General secretary Ajaypal Singh Atwal said such arbitrary actions disrupted the functioning of the power sector, weakened the chief minister's vision of "zero power outage," and posed a significant threat to the long-term reliability of power supply in the state. Atwal noted that the meeting was attended by over 800 serving engineers from across the power sector, ranging from chief engineers to assistant engineers of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL), and Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
