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Power purchase pacts signed by Badals under review: Punjab CM
Captain Amarinder Singh says a carefully charted legal course of action was being formulated to save Punjab from further financial losses due to the ill-conceived PPAs signed during the SAD-BJP regime
With the Punjab government feeling the heat of public protests on the issue of power shortage, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said power purchase agreements (PPA) signed by the previous SAD-BJP government were already under review and the Congress government would soon announce its legal strategy to counter these agreements that had put an “atrociously unnecessary financial burden” on the state.
The chief minister, who chaired a meeting to review the power situation in the state, later said that a carefully charted legal course of action was being formulated to save Punjab from further financial losses due to the ill-conceived PPAs signed by the Badals during their rule.
Of the 139 PPAs signed during the SAD-BJP regime, 17 were enough to cater to the state’s full power demand, he pointed out, adding that the remaining 122 for 1,314 MW of expensive power were inexplicably signed, putting unnecessary financial burden on the state.
Even as he appealed to the people to use power judiciously and cooperate with the government in overcoming the temporary shortage of power, the CM said against the supply of 13,500 MW, the demand last week touched an unprecedented 16,000 MW. Immediately, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) started purchasing 7,400 MW of power from outside the state, he disclosed, adding that this was 1,000 MW more than what was purchased last year.
Had the quantum of purchase not been promptly enhanced, the state would have faced an additional deficit of 1,000 MW of power, further aggravating the crisis, he pointed out.
Notice issued to Talwandi Sabo plant
Captain said the present crisis was the result of failure of one unit of the Talwandi Sabo power plant, generating 660 MW of power. While a notice had already been issued to the plant by the PSPCL for imposing a heavy penalty, the state government had, on its part, taken strong measures to address the power shortage, he added.
These measures, he said, included three weekly days off for the industry, including rolling mills and induction furnaces, from July 1 to 7. Only essential services and continuous process industries have been exempted from these regulations, he added. Further, the state government offices have also been directed to function from 8am to 2pm till July 10, with use of air conditioners prohibited.
The CM said the power distribution system in the state had improved significantly over the past four years. He said that 2 lakh new distribution transformers have been installed, taking the total to 11.5 lakh. Transformers have also been installed at substations to keep the supply stable, he added.
Eight-hour supply to agri sector: PSPCL
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of PSPCL said that following the measures taken by the state government, eight hours of power is being supplied to all agriculture consumers and there are no scheduled power cuts for domestic, commercial, small and medium supply industrial consumers in the state. The situation has improved considerably, he said.
On the availability of power from the power exchange, the spokesperson said the same was highly unpredictable, with even the rates varying, according to the time of the day, from ₹2.32/unit to ₹10/unit.
On the closure of Bathinda and Ropar thermal plants, the spokesperson said that the unit cost of power generated by these plants was high since they are of old design and required more manpower for operation. The maintenance cost of these plants was also very high, he added.
