CHANDIGARH: Punjab has been the second place in 14th. Annual ranking report released by the Ministry of Power just after Gujarat amongst state Discoms.
The turnaround was made possible by honest technocrat CMD Baldev Singh Sran by his out of box thinking.
Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) secured an A+ grade in the 14th Annual Integrated Rating and Ranking, and scored 89.22 out of 100 to rank 5th among state-owned discoms – There are 12 utilities with an A+rating including private sector.
PSPCL also overtook neighbouring Haryana's utilities UHBVNL and DHBVNL in the latest rankings who got 74.44% and 66-12% out of 100 respectively
According to therakingr report, despite posting healthy net profits, the AT and C losses incurred by Punjab’s discoms due to energy lost during transmission, theft, metering losses and billing inefficiencies rose from nearly 11% in 2023-24 to 19.2% a year later. According to a senior retired PSPCL official , the main issue is lesser collection efficiency due to less payment of subsidy by Govt . This only caused increased AT&C losses. Which was not directly under control of PSPCL.Distribution losses are almost as per target.
Another retired senior engineer said that the way there is confrontation between employees and government and things are going on, will it be able to maintain the status quo next year.
Of the 42 state-owned discoms that were rated, 25 posted profit in FY25.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), which caters to nearly 95 lakh consumers in the agrarian state, led the pack by posting a 677% jump in profits, largely due to the timely release of subsidies and improved revenue.
The integrated rating evaluates power utilities on multiple parameters, including corporate governance, billing efficiency, reduction in distribution losses, subsidy management and operational performance, among others.
Reacting to the achievement, PSEBEA)general secretary Ajaypal Singh Atwal said the upgrade reflected focused and professional management.