Power demand at all-time high, says PSEB
Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 15
The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) informed that power demand in Punjab had broken all previous records consecutively on third day as it reached 2,098 lakh units on August 13, which is 92 per cent more than the last year. Yesterday, the demand was 110 per cent more as compared to the last year.

Yesterday the availability of power was 1,631 lakh units with 143 lakh units from own hydro plants, 575 lakh units from own thermal plants, 135 lakh unts from BBMB, 11 lakh units from NRSE and 767 lakh units from purchase and banking against the availability of 974 lakh units last year on the same day.

The PSEB has been able to arrange more power this year and yesterday the availability was 67 per cent more than the last year, but the unprecedented rise in demand to the tune of 110 per cent has forced the board to impose power cuts.

The PSEB said it had been decided to deal sternly with consumers who were violating PSEB’s regulatory measures, thereby overloading the system resulting into frequent tripping/breakdowns and causing avoidable inconvenience to the people. Member/distribution informed that yesterday, 8,840 connections were checked and out of which 720 were found to be indulging in theft and 106 using unauthorised load extension. It has therefore been decided by the PSEB that consumers, who violate peak load restrictions on weekly off days or whose MDI exceeds 25 per cent of sanctioned contracted demand, the electricity connection would be disconnected for one day on first violation, three days on second violation and seven days for each violation.

The PSEB is serious to check the menace of theft and since June 15, the board has already lodged more than 1,200 FIRs in special police stations set up to deal with theft cases. It has been informed that total 38,3919 DS category, 34,675 NRS category and 2,00,172 AP category connections were checked, out of which 22,224 DS category, 1,542 NRS category and 8,967 AP consumers were found to indulge in power thefts. Penalty of Rs 80 crore have already been imposed on the defaulters.