The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB), the state's largest public sector employer, is all set to reduce its staff strength using voluntary retirement schemes and abolishing vacant posts.

HPSEB pays its 27,743 employees at an average of Rs.1.33 per unit of power generated - the largest by far in the country.

Punjab is a distant second at 56 paisa per unit per employee and in states like Andhra Pradesh, where reforms have been implemented in earnest, the cost has come down to 16 paisa, said an official who did not want to be named.

The 30-year-old board has accumulated losses of Rs.2.3 billion over the past five years - largely due to overstaffing.

Its consumer ratio is also the lowest, with each employee serving just 61 consumers against 149 in Gujarat and 118 in Uttaranchal.

While there is a shortage of technical staff, HPSEB is burdened by more than 8,000 non-technical workers.

"The board has finalised a scheme to retire non-technical staff," said the official.

"Those seeking voluntary retirement will be entitled to one-and-a-half month's salary for each completed year of service."

The scheme will be implemented after the government's approval, which is likely to come through, he said.

Reports said the move comes after the state regulatory commission came down heavily on HPSEB, asking it to reform its structure, implement voluntary retirement schemes and abolish posts lying vacant for the past three years.

The commission also directed HPSEB to stop filling jobs on compassionate grounds and be more strict in confirming temporary employees.

At 21,000 MW, Himachal Pradesh has more than a fifth of the country's hydro-power potential. Work is on to tap about 6,000 MW of this potential over the next five years by various public and private enterprises.

--Indo-Asian News Service