Cashless medical treatment facility for all ESCOM staff: Minister K J George

PTI, Jan 7, 2025, 8:13 AM IST

K J George (file image)

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Energy Minister K J George announced on Monday plans to extend the cashless medical treatment facility to staff across all Electricity Supply Companies under the Energy Department. At present, it is available only to employees of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation.

The facility will provide up to Rs 5 lakh in cashless medical treatment for eligible employees.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Diamond Jubilee Lecture organised here by the Karnataka Electricity Board (KEB) Engineers Association, Minister George emphasised the government’s commitment to employee welfare and urged swift action to implement this facility.

The event also saw the release of the KEB Engineers Association’s 2025 diary and calendar.

KPTCL Managing Director and ESCOMs Chairman Pankaj Kumar Pandey, who was present at the event, was instructed by the minister to expedite the rollout of the initiative across other ESCOMs.

Minister George reiterated the government’s commitment to addressing employee needs. “Steps are underway to ensure seniority-based promotions, fill vacant positions, and reintroduce the old pension scheme,” he added.

Highlighting the importance of renewable energy projects, the minister said, “The Kusum-C scheme, aimed at solarising agricultural pump sets at the feeder level, is already in progress.” According to him, in the first phase, Karnataka is targeting 1,200 MW of electricity generation through this project.

“If implemented swiftly, this initiative will significantly address the state’s power challenges. Officers and staff must prioritise this scheme to ensure its timely implementation,” he added.

To focus on energy storage to complement the growing solar energy generation, the government has outlined plans to develop large-scale energy storage systems, said the minister.

“A 2,000 MW pumped storage project in Sharavati and a 1,500 MW project in Varahi are in the pipeline. Energy storage is crucial for ensuring a stable and reliable supply, especially as solar power generation increases,” he said.

Apart from Pandey, the event was attended by Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda, President, CESC; Syed Azimapir S Qadri, President, Hubli Electricity Supply Company; Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar, Managing Director, Power Company of Karnataka Ltd; Sheela C, Managing Director, CESC, and senior officials from the Energy Department and members of the KEB Engineers Association.