Badal seeks additional power from center for Rabi season
Punjab Newsline Network
Saturday, 07 November 2009
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Saturday urged the Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to advice the concerned authorities in the Ministry of Power to ensure allocation at-least 250MW of additional power to Punjab from unallocated pool of Central Power Plants for agriculture operation and Rabi season.

In a letter to Shinde, the Chief Minister informed that Punjab farmers are now preparing for sowing of wheat but they are not getting adequate water so far because neither we are able to ensure requisite 8 hour power supply nor is there sufficient water in Bhakhra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar reservoirs. It has been estimated that to ensure 8 hour uninterrupted power for Wheat sowing, we need additional power of 500 MWs. The State Power Department has already made a request in this regard to the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

The Chief Minister impressed upon Shinde to accede to this request and also brought to his notice that Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is supplying 380 MWs of power for border fencing lighting, defence requirements and agriculture pump sets, which are located within 16 kms area of the International border with Pakistan. He pointed out PSEB was unable to maintain this supply if they did not receive any additional allocation of power. Badal also mentioned that further, we are also apprehending decline in hydro generation during Wheat sowing season because of reduced availability of water in the reservoirs. There was a shortfall of about 20 and 50 percent in BBMB and RSD generation units, respectively.

it may be recalled that Punjab was allocated 303 MWs of power from unallocated pool of Central Sector Plants to meet electricity requirement of farmers during the paddy season from June to September 2009. In addition 136 MWs of power was also allocated to overcome electricity shortage as a result of drought during last summer. This allocation helped the state to ensure a bumper paddy crop, despite scanty rainfall.