Power pangs in Punjab worsen
Attar Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 27
Punjab continues to be in throes of an acute power crisis with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) facing a shortage of at least 500 lakh units of power daily. With the gap in power availability and demand growing by the day, the board has been forced to resort to massive power cuts.

Sources in the PSEB said here today that the board had been imposing a cut of at least eight hours on all categories of urban and industrial consumers. Even Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, where power position previous year was better that other towns, have been facing long power cuts.

Sources added that power availability as of today was 1,328 lakh units. This included 493 lakh units from the three thermal plants at Bathinda, Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar, 143 lakh units from hydel sources, 123.59 lakh units from its share from the Bhakra Beas Management Board, 67.89 lakh units from NHPC, 88.33 lakh units from NPTC, 11.18 lakh units from nuclear thermal plants, 31.66 lakh units from Himachal Pradesh, 3.32 lakh units from Theri power project, and 42.47 lakh units from the eastern grid.

Additionally, the PSEB has been getting a supply of 117 lakh units under the power purchase agreement, and 32.78 lakh units under the banking system.

Compared to the total availability of 1,328 lakh units, the demand had touched 1,830 lakh units. The board was, thus, left with no option but to resort to long power cuts on all categories of consumers.

PSEB chairman Harinder Singh Brar said because of unprecedented increase in demand, which has resulted due to revival of heat wave, the board has to take various regulatory measures. He said late and deficient rainfall has also increased the board's responsibility in providing adequate electricity to farmers for paddy. He disclosed that supply of power to farmers shall continue till the maturity of paddy and basmati crop.

He said the huge demand of more than 1,850 LUs in last week of September was not anticipated. He disclosed that even though the board has been able to arrange 1,300 LUs that normally is sufficient for this time of year, but the shortfall of more than 550 LUs has forced PSEB to enforce power cuts and take regulatory measures.

Sources said two units of the Lehra Mohabbat plant, which were shut down for maintenance, were expected to go on steam today and this was likely to improve the power availability.

They added that the power position in the state was likely to ease in the first week of October when demand from the agriculture sector was set to go down.