As the state braces for the onset of the paddy season, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has rolled out a series of measures to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to farmers. From redeploying technical staff to establishing round-the-clock control rooms, the corporation is moving swiftly to meet the twin challenges of rising demand and manpower shortage.With temperatures soaring and irrigation needs peaking, the PSPCL has reassigned technical employees who had been engaged in clerical and non-technical duties back to field operations.Officials say the move was aimed at strengthening ground-level response, ensuring quick fault resolution, and stabilising feeder lines during the high-demand period.“Every fault must be attended to promptly and every feeder must remain stable. We cannot afford disruptions during the paddy season,” a senior officer emphasised.Complementing the manpower shift, the PSPCL has established a 24×7 paddy control room at its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) centre in Ludhiana. Operational from June 1, the facility is tasked with real-time monitoring of feeder breakdowns and rapid restoration of power supply.Duty officers have been deployed to ensure quick reporting and resolution of faults while farmers have been provided dedicated contact numbers to register complaints directly. Specialised teams have been deployed to maintain surveillance over outages, particularly in rural areas where electricity is crucial for irrigation.At the Patiala headquarters, a centralised paddy control room has also been set up to collect fault and restoration reports from all divisions under the central zone. Field offices are required to submit detailed outage reports three times daily, at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm, which will be reviewed by deputy chief engineers and additional superintending engineers.Chief Engineer Jagdev Singh Hans said the paddy season places immense pressure on the power infrastructure due to the surge in agricultural load. “Continuous monitoring and immediate intervention are essential to keep the system stable,” he said.Assistant Executive Engineer has been appointed in charge of the control room, tasked with overseeing staff deployment, attendance, shift operations and daily transmission of reports to senior offices throughout the season.Farmers, however, remain anxious about the adequacy of resources, fearing prolonged outages could disrupt transplantation schedules. The PSPCL has assured them that contingency measures are in place, with technical staff deployed round-the-clock and zonal offices directed to report lapses immediately.Experts caution that while these steps may provide temporary relief, the broader issue of staffing and infrastructure remains unresolved. Dependence on outsourced manpower had grown steadily and recruitment has not kept pace with demand.Dedicated mobile numbers have been issued for farmers and consumers to report faults or outages directly to shift engineers and officials. These include: 96461-22070, 96461-22158, 96461-21408 and 96461-21409. Officials said the system would help reduce delays in communication and ensure faster restoration of supply.