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Punjab blames Centre for prevailing power shortage
“Punjab is an agrarian state and adequate and uninterrupted power supply is essential for our farmers and the state’s economy, said power minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond
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Punjab on Saturday sought to shift the focus of the ongoing power shortage towards the Centre, with power minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond claiming that the state was receiving 1,051 MW less than its share from the central power pool.
Sond said he had written to the Union power minister seeking restoration of Punjab’s “full and rightful share” from the central pool, arguing that uninterrupted power supply was essential during the paddy season.
“Punjab is an agrarian state and adequate and uninterrupted power supply is essential for our farmers and the state’s economy. The Centre should immediately provide Punjab its due share from the central power pool,” he said.
The minister’s remarks came days after the Centre rejected Punjab’s contention that inadequate coal supply was responsible for the decline in thermal generation in the state.
In a statement issued on September 6, the ministry of coal said PSPCL’s three thermal plants — Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Station at Lehra Mohabbat, Goindwal Sahib Thermal Power Plant and Ropar Thermal Power Station — with a combined capacity of 2,300 MW, held coal stocks equivalent to around 117% of the normative requirement as on September 4.
Despite the adequate stocks, their average plant load factor (PLF) in August was only around 42%, the ministry said. It also said Coal India subsidiaries had offered coal to Punjab-based private plants, but the booking and lifting of the offered quantities had lagged.
Sond, however, maintained on Saturday that the coal position at Punjab government-owned plants was adequate following the operationalisation of the Pachhwara coal mine. He said the problem was with coal supply to the two private thermal plants — Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura — which, according to him, were dependent on Coal India Limited for supplies.
“Punjab has started operations at its Pachhwara coal mine and we now have sufficient coal available. The issue is with the supply of coal to the private thermal power plants, for which Coal India Limited is responsible,” he said.
On the outage of private thermal units, Sond said a technical fault in one of the units had been resolved by PSPCL officials and that efforts were underway to restore the remaining units at the earliest.
“Our government and PSPCL are closely monitoring the power situation and taking all necessary measures to ensure reliable electricity supply,” he said.
PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director Basant Garg and director (generation) Punnerdeep Singh Brar were also present at the press conference.
