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Order to curb NCR pollution: Two thermal plants shut, Punjab paying ₹15 crore daily to buy power from grid
Punjab shells out ₹15 crore, including ₹2 crore as transmission charges, to power exchange daily for the electricity that can be generated at ₹4 per unit in its own plants, says officials
With two thermal power plants at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar ordered to shut their operations till December 15 due to high level of pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is buying electricity at exorbitant rates from the national grid.
The state is paying ₹15 crore, including ₹2 crore as transmission charges, to the power exchange daily for the electricity that can be generated at ₹4 per unit in own thermal plants, officials said.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR in its November 26 order had said that the NTPC’s Jhajjar unit, the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Station (RGPTC) at Hisar, the Panipat plant, Talwandi Sabo plant, Nabha Power Ltd, Rajpura, could remain operational.
But in a November 30 order, Punjab was asked to keep the Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar plants shut till December 15.
The Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) is left with coal for only less than a day and is running at 50% load.
As such, the PSPCL has to pay ₹2.25 crore per day as fixed charges to the Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) due to non-generation for shortage of coal. According to an Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) order, the private plants get fixed charges if coal shortage is not attributed to them.
Also, one of the two units of the Rajpura plant is under maintenance.
“Both the Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat plants have coal for 9 and 16 days but have been asked to stop generation by the CAQM. To meet the shortfall, the PSPCL is purchasing more than 400 lakh units per day from the exchange,” admitted a PSPCL official.
It was strange that the plants at Jhajjar, Hisar and Panipat, which are located very close to the NCR, were allowed to run whereas plants in faraway places like Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar are barred from generating electricity, he added.
PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) A Venu Prasad said the corporation’s move to purchase power from the grid is not causing any financial loss as prices are equivalent to the electricity produced in Punjab. “It will adversely affect Punjab only if the prices of power at the grid exceed ₹4.5 per unit,” he said.
