Attrition in power sector on the rise

Faced with talent crunch and increasing number of private players, the fast-growing Indian power sector is seeing higher attrition rate, especially in the public sector companies, say experts.

"The attrition (in power sector) is at the managerial level and more so at senior managerial level," leading consultancy Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India's Senior Director Vedamoorthy Namasivayam told PTI.

"The increased investments by the private sector in this industry has resulted in increased demand for talent and, hence, the attrition from public sector entities," he noted.

Going by estimates, men power shortage in the power sector runs into thousands while attrition rate could be in high single digits.

An official with a public sector power entity said that attrition has been slightly rising in recent times, mainly on account of increased number of private players. These players are luring talent with attractive packages, the official added.

"Traditional engineering education alone is not adequate, given the new demands of the (power) industry. Similarly at the work force level, multiple skills/competencies are required than single dimensional specialisation of earlier era," Namasivayam said.

A senior official with another state-run power utility pointed out that even though attrition was there, it was not at worrisome levels.
    
The contribution of private sector players towards capacity addition shot up to 20% in 2010 from just 11.6% in 2006.
    
In the current five-year plan (2007-12), private entities are expected to account for nearly 30% of their total capacity addition.
    
The power sector is expected to see a growth of at least 7%, if the Indian economy is to see around 9% annual growth.  Further, the sector is anticipated to see investments of $300-400 billion in the 12th five-year plan period (2012-17).