Sukhbir asks Powercom to desist from power cuts at night
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday asked the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to improve the power supply to the domestic sector saying power cuts beyond the schedule should be avoided.
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday asked the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to improve the power supply to the domestic sector saying power cuts beyond the schedule should be avoided.
Sukhbir had a detailed review of the power supply situation in the state as the demand for power has increased owing to a to drought-like situation in the state.Power secretary Anirudh Tiwari gave a detailed presentation of the power scenario in the state. Powercom chairman KD Chaudhary said there had been a 40% increase in demand against the 10% projected by the PSPCL.
He said Powercom had already bought power worth Rs 7,000 crore to tide over the crisis owing to the deficient monsoon.
Sukhbir issued strict instructions that Powercom must keep power cuts for domestic consumers to the minimum and should notify about them beforehand. He said there should be no power cuts from 8pm to 8am to the domestic sector so that people could have an undisturbed sleep.
The Powercom chairman said that at times power cuts were due to the grid failure owing to low frequency, which was not in their control. He said Powercom had to exercise discipline in overdrawing power from the grid and Monday morning's failure in the northern grid was outside their control.
Sukhbir instructed Powercom to buy more power to meet the demand.
Issuing directions to strictly enforce a ban on air-conditioners in government offices in the state, Sukhbir said people of Punjab would have to make a collective effort to face this unprecedented crisis. He said Punjab had already sought 1,000-MW power from unallocated central pool and expressed the hope that understanding the gravity of the situation to save crops, the Centre would release more power to the state.