Mangaluru:
The newly appointed Chairman of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (MESCOM), Harish Kumar, has highlighted a significant staffing shortage affecting the company’s maintenance operations. With a sanctioned strength of 9,248 employees across four districts—Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, and Shivamogga—MESCOM currently faces a vacancy of 4,028 positions. Among these, 2,683 are powerman roles, which are crucial for the upkeep of the power supply infrastructure.
This shortage has led to delays in maintenance tasks, particularly during the monsoon season when the demand for timely repairs intensifies. Chairman Kumar noted that while youths from other districts often seek transfers to their native places within two to three years, local youths in Dakshina Kannada show limited interest in applying for powerman positions. To address this, he proposed discussions with the government to permit district or divisional-level recruitments, aiming to attract more local candidates.
In addition to staffing challenges, Kumar pointed out that several gram panchayats owe MESCOM approximately ₹500–600 crore in unpaid electricity bills for street lighting and water supply services. Despite these financial hurdles, he assured that efforts are underway to improve the power supply, including the development of new 33/11 kV substations at 18 locations, with plans for nine more. He emphasized that transformer failures should be rectified within 24 hours to minimize disruptions.
These initiatives are part of MESCOM’s broader strategy to enhance service reliability and meet the growing energy demands of the region.