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Punjab power: Why it took 4 years to review pacts, Sukhbir asks Capt
Shiromani Akali Dal chief says power purchase agreements were signed by his government according to rules framed by the then Congress-led UPA at the Centre
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said the party welcomed the Congress government’s announcement to cancel or revisit power purchase agreements with private companies but the government should clarify why it took it more than four years to realise any wrongdoing in the PPAs.
After addressing a party workers’ meet in Bathinda, Badal told journalists that the then SAD-BJP government had signed PPAs to buy electricity for ₹2.86/unit, the cheapest at the time.
Also read: Capt asks PSPCL to cancel, revisit PPAs with pvt firms
“It is for chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to explain the poor planning that led to the chaos this summer. Industrial, domestic and farms sector are equally disturbed due to poor power availability. PPAs were signed in accordance with the rules framed by the then Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. The Punjab government had simply worked according to the framework given nationally,” he said.
Badal said the agreements were signed to meet the power demands of the state, especially during paddy sowing and summer season.
“The SAD welcomes any move to terminate lopsided PPAs if they are not beneficial to the state. This year, the Punjab government purchased power at a price of up to ₹14/unit and the government should explain how much a consumer will have to shell out for power,” said the SAD chief.
He said the state government was also trying to hinder the Centre’s direction of a CBI investigation into the scam in the disbursal of funds under the SC Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme.
