The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has established a dedicated paddy control room in Ludhiana ahead of the paddy sowing season, deploying specialised teams and a round-the-clock monitoring mechanism to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply as agricultural power demand is expected to surge across the state in the coming weeks.Any prolonged disruption in electricity supply can adversely affect irrigation schedules and agricultural operations. (HT PHOTO)The 24x7 control room, set up at the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) control centre within the 66 kV sub-station complex in Sarabha Nagar, will become operational from June 1 and serve as the nodal facility for monitoring power supply across the central zone during one of the most critical phases of Punjab’s agricultural cycle.PSPCL officials said the centre will maintain continuous surveillance over outages, feeder breakdowns and supply disruptions, particularly in rural areas where electricity is indispensable for irrigation activities.Punjab witnesses a sharp rise in power consumption during the paddy sowing season owing to the extensive use of tubewells for irrigation. Any prolonged disruption in electricity supply can adversely affect irrigation schedules and agricultural operations, making prompt restoration of power a key priority for the utility.To strengthen preparedness, PSPCL has constituted a dedicated team comprising three junior engineers (JEs), one senior scale assistant (SSA) and five computer operators engaged through PESCO. The personnel will work in three shifts to ensure uninterrupted monitoring of the power network throughout the season.Officials said the facility will function as a centralised monitoring and response hub, continuously collecting information on faults and breakdowns from all operation divisions under the central zone.Special emphasis will be placed on incidents where electricity supply remains disrupted for more than one hour, enabling swift intervention and restoration measures.To facilitate seamless communication during emergencies,PSPCL has issued four dedicated mobile numbers — 96461-22070, 96461-22158, 96461-21408 and 96461-21409 — through which field officials will relay real-time information regarding faults, repair work and restoration progress.The utility has also directed field offices to submit detailed outage reports to the paddy control room at its headquarters in Patiala three times daily — at 6 am, 12 noon and 6 pm.These reports will subsequently be shared with the deputy chief engineers and additional superintending engineers concerned to ensure close monitoring of the power distribution network.Chief engineer, central zone, Jagdev Singh Hans, said the paddy sowing season places considerable pressure on the power infrastructure due to the sharp increase in agricultural load.“The dedicated control room has been established to ensure continuous monitoring ofthe power supply and immediate response to any breakdowns. Field teams have been alerted, and officials will remain in constant coordination with Patiala headquarters so that farmers do not face disruptions during the paddy sowing season.Our focus is to minimise outage duration and maintain uninterrupted supply across the central zone,” he said.PSPCL has appointed assistant executive engineer Samriddhi Midda as the in-charge of the paddy control room. She will oversee staff deployment, attendance management, shift operations and the transmission of daily reports to senior offices throughout the paddy sowing season.