THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is kickstarting a massive training programme for its personnel, including sub-engineers and assistant engineers who do not possess the qualification stipulated by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
In all, 510 sub-engineers and assistant engineers who do not possess either a degree or diploma and a large number of linemen and supervisors will be given training under Power Engineers’ Training and Research Centre, the training facility of KSEB based at Moolamattam. A recently-held meeting of the power utility’s director board instructed the HR wing to make arrangements in this regard.
The CEA (measures relating to safety & electricity supply) Regulations, 2010, requires supervisors and engineers in the generation, transmission and distribution wings of power utilities to have either a diploma or a degree in engineering from a recognised institute. A sizeable chunk of the personnel on the KSEB payroll who play supervisory roles - which include overseers, sub-engineers and assistant engineers - hold only ITI certification, which falls short of the CEA diktat. Some years ago, the Kerala State Electricity
Regulatory Commission also had threatened the KSEB with action under the section 142 of Electricity Act for disobeying the CEA norms.
‘’Our plan is to complete the training within a one-year period. The training will be provided at the district-level under the aegis of PETARC,’’ Augustine Thomas, Chief Engineer (HRM), KSEB, said. The linemen and overseers will be trained at various regional power training institutes and electrical circles, which will be followed by an evaluation.
The regulatory commission had entered the picture following complaints that under-qualified personnel were working on electrical installations like overhead power lines. The regulator also wanted the KSEB to ensure that all future recruitments are in tune with the CEA norms.