VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu government to drop its decision to outsource electricity meter reading to private companies and fill vacancies in the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) through internal recruitment.

In a statement, he said Tamil Nadu had around 3.52 crore electricity consumers and complaints over power outages, delays in meter reading, and billing errors were increasing. He attributed the problems largely to shortage of staff.

Citing the department’s White Paper, he said 53,575 posts were vacant and the government had announced plans to fill 20,449 posts, including 12,500 multi-purpose field assistants and 945 technical assistants. He said the decision to outsource meter reading through a limited tender for six months from October amounted to an attempt to privatise the power utility.

Mr. Thirumavalavan also highlighted the shortage of substation operators, with around 1,800 posts vacant. He said around 600 employees who had cleared the internal recruitment process for technical assistant posts were awaiting appointment. He urged the government to appoint these candidates first against the 945 vacancies proposed to be filled this year, citing their experience in the department.