Power outages: KSEB to ensure round-the-clock service; staff to work in 3 shifts

Palakkad: To ensure uninterrupted power restoration even during night-time outages, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will provide full-time service across the state. For this purpose, Electricity Restoration Teams (SRTs) will be deployed at all 741 section offices. Field staff will operate in a three-shift system, whereas currently SRTs are only available at 29 section offices in the state.

Work schedules will be reorganised for 11,841 field staff, including 741 assistant engineers, 1,482 sub-engineers, 3,278 overseers and 6,350 linemen. The shifts will be from 7 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 9 pm and 9 pm to 7 am. Each shift will regularly include two linemen and one overseer. During emergencies such as natural disasters, off-duty staff and personnel from other shifts may also be deployed. Field staff from the Revenue Department will be excluded, though sub-engineers and overseers from the department may be called in during critical emergencies.

All vehicles and drivers required for full-time field operations will be arranged. Power outage messages will be relayed to the responsible overseer via a mobile app or WhatsApp, and phone systems will also be set up. Sub-engineers will supervise maintenance work on high-tension lines. Section offices will be divided into three categories based on the number of connections, and staff will be allocated accordingly.