Ludhiana: Faced with various problems related to the working of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), a delegation of city businessmen met chief engineer of the organisation.
According to them, the biggest issue for them is levy of fixed charges for the period of lockdown when the industry was not working. The other issues are erratic power supply and long time taken by the PSPCL to resolve certain day-to-day problems. Businessmen are also of the view that a coordination committee should be formed, in which representatives of the industry and PSPCL officials too should be enrolled as members. This committee can help resolve the problems of the industry faster and also implement suggestions of businessmen to improve the working of the PSPCL.
Giving more information, industrialist Jaswinder Thukral, who led this delegation, said, “We met the chief engineer of the PSPCL, Bhupinder Khosla, for resolution of our problems. The meeting was held in a very cordial environment and he heard our problems patiently. We informed him about our biggest concern, which was imposition of fixed charges on factories for the period of lockdown. These charges are totally unjustified as during that period the industry was not in operation and so, how can we be asked to pay these charges. Moreover, chief minister Amarinder Singh has already ordered the PSPCL to waive these charges. So, we have urged the chief engineer to take up this matter with the higher authorities and get the orders for waiver of fixed charges at the earliest.”
According to another businessman, Swinder Singh Hunjan, “Another issue which was discussed during the meeting was the shortage of staff at the PSPCL’s Janta Nagar division due to which the resolution of complaints usually took time. We have also requested the chief engineer to ensure that all power divisions which cater to areas where factories are located should be instructed to pay special attention to the complaints related to factories and resolve these in a time-bound manner.”
Rajinder Singh Kalsi, who too was part of the meeting, said, “During the discussions, we took up the issue of formation of a coordination committee of the PSPCL, which should comprise industrialists and department officials. The main function of this committee will be to conduct regular meetings with regard to the problems being faced by the industry and reduce the communication gap between both sides. The chief engineer responded positively to our demand and he has assured that a committee will be formed at the earliest.”