Ranchi, July 27: Chief secretary P.P. Sharma was today given additional charge of chairman of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB).

Sources said incumbent chairman H.B. Lal was forced to put in his papers in the evening, paving the way for chief minister Arjun Munda to order a complete revamp of the ailing power utility.

Two other JSEB members ? K.P. Sinha, member (generation) and S.N. Akhouri, member (rural electrification) ? have also been removed from the board. The only fortunate member to be retained is G.N.S. Munda, who doubles as managing director of Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd.

Health secretary Shivendu has been inducted as the new member (finance) in the set-up under Sharma.

This is the fourth time in less than five years that the JSEB has been revamped.

The first chairman of the board, after the creation of the state, was Rajiv Ranjan, an executive from the Power Grid Corporation. He gave way to B.K. Chauhan, a former IAS officer who had drifted into politics after taking voluntary retirement.

Chauhan lasted for a year and a few months before the state government foisted Lal, a retired and septuagenarian official, formerly with the Bihar State Electricity Board, as the chairman.

Although the high court has come down heavily on the electricity board for flouting an earlier order against engaging retired people, technically it has not questioned the appointment of the chairman or other members, three of whom are retired, because board members have often been experts with impeccable records.

Barring member (finance) Munda, all the other three members of the JSEB, Lal, Sinha and Akhouri, happen to have retired from the BSEB.

The shake-up came on a day when power generation in the state plunged amid increasing speculation of a revamp.

People, as usual, took the blackouts stoically, resigned to the situation. They have given up hopes of any improvement, although both chief minister Munda and the state electricity board have made encouraging noises from time to time.

Will an IAS officer as chairman help? From the government?s point of view, it would at least divert attention for the time being and give it much needed breathing time.

Patratu Thermal Power Station (PTPS) once again played truant today, said JSEB sources, with its generation dipping to just 75 MW and only two of its 10 units functioning. The situation would, however, improve, claimed officials, once the third unit is commissioned later tonight.

Of the 10 units at Patratu, with a combined installed capacity of 840 MW, not more than three units are functional on any given day. Units number 1 to 6 are more than 40 years old, units 7 and 8 are nearly 25 years old while the remaining two units which have been commissioned in 1984-85 have long been shut down for equipment modifications and replacement.

Average generation at PTPS hovers between a low of 70 MW to a maximum of 140 MW, making the state perpetually reliant on withdrawals from the central grid to meet its day-to-day requirements.