Punjab sees 12% jump in power consumption in January this year
Patiala The power consumption in Punjab shot up by 12% in January this as compared to last year
Patiala
The power consumption in Punjab shot up by 12% in January this as compared to last year. Officials attribute it to intense cold wave and 600 units of free power in a billing cycle provided by the state government.
Punjab power minister Harbhajan Singh said that during this year, the PSPCL successfully met the increased power demand through optimum utilisation of its resources. He said the power demand rose by 12% (from 54,237 million units in January 2022 to 60,762 million units in January this year). To achieve this, the PSPCL made power arrangements from outside the state and also increased its own thermal and hydel generation. During the year, thermal generation from the PSPCL’s own plants at Ropar and Lehra increased by 128% (2,736 million units last year to 6,229 million units this year). Similarly, hydro generation from PSPCL own projects and BBMB also increased by 21% (2,946 million units to 3,567 million units) and 13% (3,067 MUs to 3,454 MUs), respectively from last year.
Apart from an increase in its own generation, banking of power with other states has also saw a jump, said the minister. The PSPCL has increased its banking export by 83% (1,917 MUs to 3,487 MUs), he said.