The number of employees in power utilities had declined by 32 percent
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: DC/File)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The productivity of KSEB employees is one of the poorest in the country with only the employees of power utilities in north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir faring worse. The irony is that among public utilities, it is the KSEB that spends the most on employee perks. In short, the KSEB spends more on its employees and gets considerably less in return. These were revealed in the Planning Commission’s annual report on ‘The working of state power utilities and electricity departments.’
At the national level, the number of employees in power utilities had declined by 32 percent from 9.77 lakh in 1998-99 to 6.6 lakh in 2011-12. At the same time, the number of employees in KSEB Limited shot up by 30 percent from 24,541 in 2002-03 to 31,793 in 2012-13.
More alarming, however, is the consequent fall in the productivity of the employees. At the national level, because of a reduction in employee strength, the number of employees per million units of electricity sold also declined. “The average employees per million units of electricity sold declined from 3.25 in 1998-99 to 1.12 in 2011-12 and the same is projected to come down to 0.91 in 2013-14,” the report observes. This means that a lesser number of employees is required to generate a specific quantum of energy.
But the KSEB required more number of employees to perform the same function. The number of KSEB employees per million units of electricity sold is 1.92, more than the national average of 1.12. Only electricity workers in north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir have lesser productivity. The number has been increasing over the years, pointing to the annual decline in employer productivity.
Not surprisingly, the KSEB has the highest ‘Establishment and Administration’ (E&A) charges, mainly consisting of wages and salaries of staff. While the share of E&A charges in the total cost of supply nationally has come down to 9.7 percent in 2011-12 from 14.6 in 1998-99, the E&A share of KSEB in the total cost is a whopping 27.2 percent. Only Arunachal Pradesh with 30.9 percent is poorer.
( Source : dc )
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