9,500 posts vacant in power board, govt urged to address staff shortage

The Pangi unit of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) Employees Union at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the state president, Nitish Bhardwaj, at Killed expressed serious concern over the severe staff shortage in the organisation. Bhardwaj said that around 9,500 posts of various categories were vacant, making it increasingly difficult for the existing staff to maintain uninterrupted power supply to consumers in the state.

He said that the government should immediately fill all vacant posts in the board. He appreciated the state government for filling more than 2,000 technical posts and urged it that the proposed outsourced posts also be filled on the pattern of regular T-Mate positions to ensure round-the-clock power supply. Bhardwaj pressed the board management to act swiftly on the assurances given by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during the 18th session of the employees union.

He expressed displeasure over the delay in implementation of the old pension scheme and demanded that the decision to dismiss 81 outsourced drivers be reviewed and they be accommodated against the existing vacancies.

Union general secretary Prashant Sharma opposed the rationalisation process claiming that it was being misused to eliminate employee positions in the board. He welcomed the new recruitment drive but insisted that all recruitment should be done directly by the board instead of relying on outsourcing. Sharma also opposed the introduction of smart metering, saying it was a step towards privatisation that would affect the outsourced employees and increase financial burden on consumers. He termed the Electricity Amendment Act, 2025, as anti-employee and anti-consumer being brought by the Central Government to promote privatisation. He warned that the legislation could significantly increase electricity tariffs in the rural and hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh.

He said that electricity board employees and engineers from across the country would stage a protest against this Act in Delhi on January 30 next year.

After the meeting, elections were held for the new executive committee of the Pangi unit. The elected office-bearers are Sanjeev Soni (president), Vinod Thakur (general secretary), Santosh Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Kamlesh Kumari and Sonika (vice-presidents), Suresh Kumar (treasurer) and Ashok Kumar (chief adviser).