Addressing ongoing protests by contractual workers at Gandhi Marg in the capital city, Tata Power-led Odisha Discoms issued an official clarification on Tuesday afternoon, reassuring consumers and workers that no employees have been retrenched.
Speaking at a press conference organised at TPCODL’s Technology Centre, the Discom management emphasised that all operations and staffing decisions strictly follow government guidelines and regulatory frameworks, affirming their unyielding commitment to providing uninterrupted and quality power supply across the state.
Clearing the air on circulating rumours regarding job cuts, authorities clarified that out of 15,300 contractual workers currently engaged under the utility, only 374 employees have been identified for routine redeployment. The management detailed that this process is being executed through Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) vendors, with nearly 200 of those workers having already reported to their new designated duty locations.
The Discom authorities announced a clear timeline for the remaining personnel, urging them to resume work by November 15. While reiterating that doors remain open for all willing workers to return, management cautioned that if employees remain absent beyond the deadline, Business Associates will be forced to implement contingency measures to safeguard essential electricity services for the citizens of Odisha.
Highlighting overall operational growth, officials underscored that the total contractual workforce under Tata Power in Odisha has expanded dramatically from 6,000 in 2020 to over 15,300 today, while the collective strength across all state Discoms has more than doubled to exceed 55,000. Despite serving nearly one crore consumers statewide and undertaking massive infrastructure safety overhauls that significantly reduced distribution losses over the past six years, power tariffs for general consumers have remained completely unchanged.
The press conference featured key leadership from Tata Power’s Odisha operations, led by Gajanan Kale, Chief of Odisha Distribution Business and CEO of TPCODL. He was joined by senior officials including Amarjit Patnaik, Pradipta Dash, Manoj Das, Jaydeep Roy, Praveen Sharma, Kamal Lochan Baral, and Shiba Swain, all of whom reiterated the company’s primary focus on network reliability and customer satisfaction.
