THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the first time, the Kerala State Electricity Board is expected to get full-time technical directors from outside the department.
Following up on former KSEB chairman B Ashok’s call to appoint former chief engineers from other departments in the board, the LDF government urged Kerala Public Enterprises Selection Board chairman V P Joy -- a former chief secretary -- to invite applications.
The move saw several retired chief engineers, who have an experience of three years or more at the top, applying for KSEB director positions.
Besides KSEB chairman and managing director Biju Prabhakar and four independent directors, the other four current director board members are P Surendra (distribution, safety and supply chain management), Saji Paulose (transmission, system operation and planning), G Sajeev (generation -- electrical, renewable energy and energy savings, SOURA, sports and welfare) and R Biju (finance and additional charge of HRM).
Currently, vacancies are arising for directors in the transmission (electrical), generation (electrical), generation (civil), and finance sections.
Joy told TNIE that the ball is now in the court of the state government to publish the shortlist for KSEB director board members. He expressed reservations on revealing the number of applicants who appeared for the interview.
Meanwhile, a senior power department official said that six interviewees had been shortlisted and their names forwarded to the state vigilance department for final clearance.
“After Ashok wrote to the state government on the need to give chief engineers from other departments opportunities to serve on the KSEB director board, the government constituted a committee under V P Joy to take the proposal forward. Following Ashok’s transfer, his successor, Dr Rajan Khobragade, took it up. The process has now seen the file on the shortlisted candidates reaching the vigilance department,” the power department official said.
The four permanent technical director board vacancies are expected to be filled within the next few days.