Chandigarh: The Punjab government has fast-tracked its strategy to fill the crucial post of Director (Generation) at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). A high-level selection committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday to deliberate upon the short-listed candidates and potentially finalise the names for the key administrative position. Following the committee’s recommendations, the final appointment will be made after formal approval from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The coveted post has been lying vacant since November 4, 2025, when the former director, Harjit Singh, was removed from his responsibilities over alleged fuel cost mismanagement.
The appointment carries immense significance for the state’s power infrastructure as Punjab enters its peak summer season, which directly coincides with the high power-consuming paddy transplantation period. The selection process is being overseen by a specialized panel led by Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha, alongside Power Secretary Basant Garg and the Chairperson of the Power Finance Corporation. Around 25 engineers are currently in the running for the top job, following an official recruitment advertisement published on March 30, 2026. Ahead of the notification, the Punjab Cabinet revised the baseline qualifications and operational criteria for the post under the guidance of Power Minister Sanjeev Arora. Consequently, the applicant pool is quite diverse, with 17 candidates possessing comprehensive expertise in power production, while eight applicants lack prior generation-specific experience.
Amidst these administrative changes, the utility corporation has registered a steady turnaround in its operational and commercial parameters over the last three years. According to the integrated rating and ranking report released by the Union Power Ministry and the Power Finance Corporation, PSPCL’s performance score scaled up from 76.99 to an impressive 89.22. The power utility, which secured a ‘B’ rating in the 2022–23 fiscal year, climbed to an ‘A’ rating in 2023–24, and has now clinched a top-tier ‘A Plus’ rating for the 2024–25 evaluation cycle. This sustained improvement is attributed to strategic interventions, including systemic upgrades in power supply reliability, significant reductions in transmission and distribution line losses, robust billing and cash collection mechanisms, and optimized consumer grievance redressal systems.
