POWER PPAs Cabinet ministers voice concern, ask CM to set up committee

A day after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal challenged the state government to cancel power purchase agreements with private plants, several

A day after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal challenged the state government to cancel power purchase agreements with private plants, several cabinet ministers on Thursday asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to set up a high-powered panel to find a way to get out of them.

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The ministers conveyed their serious concern over the financial burden on electricity consumers due to costly power from private thermal plants after the meeting of the state council of ministers got over.

A committee comprising the state’s advocate general, chief secretary and a senior official from the chief minister’s staff was also suggested by them to the chief minister to go over the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private players with a fine-tooth comb and recommend ways to get off the hook, it is learnt.

A minister said power pacts had led to huge financial liability to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore on account of coal washing charges. “There are legal matters pending in courts and may lead to additional liability to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore. We have to find a way and cannot allow the common man to be burdened like this,” he added. Another senior minister also said there was more or less consensus that the government needed to do something about these power purchase pacts.

Though no decision was taken, the ministers’ action is a pointer towards growing concern in the ruling Congress over frequent hikes in power rates that have left the electricity consumers jolted.

Akali leader Sukhbir Badal had on Wednesday openly challenged the chief minister to cancel PPAs entered into with private thermal plants during the SAD-BJP rule, accusing the present government of not pursuing the case against the release of coal washing charges to private plants properly in the Supreme Court.

Also, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will ‘gherao’ the chief minister’s residence here on Friday to press for scrapping of PPAs as well as to demand rollback of the hike in power tariff. Power rates, according to the principal opposition party, have been hiked on 12 occasions ever since the Congress assumed power in the state.