Overview

• Power employees launched a tools-down, pen-down strike on August 11 after the state failed to issue a circular implementing 25 demands from a June 2 agreement.
• The walkout has driven a 47% surge in electricity complaints in Ludhiana and triggered a 14-hour blackout in the Estate division after a fault on a 66 kV transmission line.
• With more than half of PSPCL’s workforce off duty, engineers and clerical staff have been reassigned to field roles and 5,500 contractual employees now manage complaint resolutions.
• Outsourced unions, including the Powercom and Transco Workers Union, have backed the action and warned they will launch an indefinite strike from August 15.
• Authorities face calls to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act after villagers stormed a substation to demand power restoration.