Power plants to be functional only after Nov 2012
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 21
No new thermal power plant in the state, including those at Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Goindwal Sahib, will be commissioned before November 18, 2012.

The Union Ministry of Power gave this information in a reply to a query by Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. Union Minister of State for Power, KC Venugopal has stated that as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the first unit of the 3660 MW thermal plant at Talwandi Sabo will be commissioned on November 18 next year, the second unit on February 8, 2013, and the third unit on June 10, 2013.

Similarly, the first unit of the 2270 MW thermal plant at Goindwal Sahib will be commissioned on January 31, 2013, and the second unit on April 30, 2013. The Rajpura thermal power plant of a 2700 MW capacity will have its first unit commissioned on January 17, 2014, and the second on May 17, 2014.

“These figures means that Punjab cannot be a power surplus state. As all these plants are being set up on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis, neither the state government nor the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has spent a penny on these projects,” Bittu said.

Challenging Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to an open debate on the power scenario in Punjab, Bittu said the government was befooling the people of Punjab on the issue with an eye on the assembly elections.

“The SAD-BJP election manifesto claims that Punjab would be a surplus state within three years while none of the plants can be commissioned before the state government’s term ends,” he said. Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) has been allotted the Goindwal Sahib plant, SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation, China, has been allotted work at the Talwandi Sabo plant while Larsen & Toubro is working for the Rajpura thermal plant.