power from Northern Grid
Punjab seeks hike in quota
Umesh Dewan/TNS

Patiala, July 12
Punjab Power Corporation has taken up the matter of increasing the Total Transfer Capacity (TTC) of power from the Northern Grid from the existing limit of 5,400-MW to at least 5,800-MW at a two-day meeting of the Northern Regional Power Committee (NRPC) and the Technical Sub-Committee, which started today at Mussorrie in Uttarakhand.

Representatives from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh are participating in the meeting.

Speaking to The Tribune, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Director (Distribution) Arun Verma said, “We have taken up the matter with the NRPC that the 5,400-MW capacity for Punjab should be increased. Because of the restriction of the TTC, power cuts have to be imposed in Punjab despite the fact that the Power Corporation has sufficient resources to purchase power from private players.”

Meanwhile, PSPCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director KD Chaudhri said the Power Corporation was being criticised for imposing power cuts, whereas the ground situation was different. Chaudhri said, “The PSPCL has done everything possible to ensure that maximum power flows through the system and there are no power cuts.” He said last year in the months of May, June and till July 10, the power purchased from short-term agreements and unscheduled interchange (UI) was 29,453 lakh units (LUs), whereas this year the figure stands at 47,874 LUs, marking a steep increase of 18,421 LUs.

The CMD said the PSPCL was forced to impose cuts after the demand inceased drastically. “Though, we have resources to purchase power to meet the demand but because of the TTC limit of 5,400-MW, we are helpless,” he said.