Bhubaneswar: Former Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena was sworn in as the Chairperson of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) on Tuesday.
Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati administered the oath of office to Jena at a simple ceremony held in Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
Several senior officials, including Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Energy Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev, and Principal Secretary to the Governor NBS Rajput, members of the OERC and other distinguished guests were present on the occasion.
Notably, the state government had on March 28 appointed Jena as the ninth Chairperson of OERC. The Energy department had issued an official notification about his appointment.
The post of OERC chairperson was lying vacant since November 2023 when incumbent Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, also a former Chief Secretary, resigned after being appointed as chief adviser to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Jena, a 1989-batch IAS officer, had served as secretary of the Energy department for a period of over six years, during which he handled the crucial energy infrastructure that had crumbled post Super Cyclone.
A postgraduate in applied geology, he was appointed as Chief Secretary of Odisha on February 26, 2023, and continued in the post till June 30, 2024. Though the officer was slated to retire from service on December 31, he got a six-month extension in view of the general and assembly polls in April-May 2024.
Jena had also served as secretary in Panchayati Raj and Information Technology departments and principal secretary in the Rural Development department. He was one of the longest serving principal secretaries of the Water Resources department and quick response during natural calamities was the hallmark of his service as the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC).
