Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is set to witness a mass retirement of employees in the coming months, with 1,522 staff members scheduled to retire by May 31. This is expected to worsen the staff shortage crisis.

Of those retiring, two-thirds belong to the workmen category, who are responsible for fieldwork. However, the Board has remained firm on its decision to report vacancies to the Public Service Commission (PSC) only after restructuring, causing nearly 5,000 job opportunities to slip away from aspiring candidates.

Following a study conducted by KSEB on the directive of the Electricity Regulatory Commission to regulate its workforce, the Commission approved 30,321 posts. Yet, with only a limited number of vacancies being reported over the years, KSEB’s staff strength has been steadily declining.

The Board also faces the risk of a leadership shortage if adequate replacements are not recruited and trained in time. Last year, KSEB struggled to find enough qualified officials to promote to Chief Engineer and Deputy Chief Engineer positions in certain wings.

As of March 31, 2024, KSEB had 28,157 employees, but this number is expected to drop to 26,797 by May 31, following retirements. Estimates from December 2024 show that the workforce has further dwindled to 26,489 employees. With the upcoming retirements, the total number of employees is expected to fall below 25,000.

Retirements by May 31:

• Chief Engineers – 4
• Deputy Chief Engineers – 10
• Executive Engineers – 36
• Assistant Executive Engineers – 50
• Officers – 417
• Workmen – 1,005