Power Grid Corporation of India and Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the “POWERGRID Centre of Excellence” at PEC, Chandigarh. The centre, funded under POWERGRID’s Corporate Social Responsibility, aims to bolster academia-industry collaboration in the power and energy sector.

Presiding over the signing ceremony, UT Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma praised the partnership’s potential to advance India’s energy security and drive the transition to a net-zero emission future under the Viksit Bharat vision. The facility would provide cutting-edge infrastructure for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral scholars, fostering skill development and technological innovation among youth. The centre will offer advanced resources and hands-on training in numerical relays, inverters, cybersecurity, e-mobility, and related domains.

The MoU was signed by Tarun Bajaj, Executive Director (Northern Region-II), POWERGRID, and Prof. Rajesh Kumar Bhatia, Director (ad-interim), PEC, in the presence of Verma and POWERGRID Chairman & Managing Director Ravinder Kumar Tyagi—a PEC alumnus who reiterated the corporation’s commitment to technical education. Prerna Puri, UT Secretary (Education), also attended.