Ludhiana, July 30 -- More than 43,500 electricity complaints remained pending across PSPCL's Central Zone over the past five days as the strike by complaint handling bike (CHB) employees severely disrupted ground-level fault restoration, exposing the utility's dependence on its frontline technical workforce.

Official data accessed by Hindustan Times shows that between July 24 and July 28, PSPCL's Central Zone received 1,47,464 consumer complaints, of which 1,03,928 were attended, while 43,535 remained pending.

Officials said the actual number of unresolved faults is lower, as several complaints continue to appear pending on the portal because outsourced complaint-centre staff, responsible for closing complaints in the system after resto...