Withslight improvement in the power supply situation due to resumption of one ofthe damaged Talwandi Sabo thermal power generating units, the state governmenton Monday decided to ease off all power regulatory restrictions on industrialconsumers, except those using continuous power, with immediate effect.
Disclosingthis here today, Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) Punjab State PowerCorporation Limited A Venu Prasad said that all industrial consumers indistricts falling in central and border zones have been allowed to operate atfull capacity from today. Only the Continuous Process Industries includingTextile, Chemicals, and Spinning Mills, which undertake round the clockoperations would now be required to follow restrictions as applied earlier. Hesaid that these guidelines would be reviewed once again after three days totake fresh decision.
Itmay be recalled that owing to unprecedented rise in demand of power, the PSPCLhad as a temporary measure ordered restrictions on Industrial consumers of theState in order to provide continuous power supply to Domestic consumers and 8hours power supply to the Agriculture sector for paddy operations. Continousprocess industries, as of now, have been asked to operate at 50% of continuousprocess load, a department spokesperson said.
Thedepartment, despite high demand for consumption had not imposed anyrestrictions on small and medium supply industrial consumers, rice shellers,cattle feed units, call centres, mushroom farms, food processing units andother essential Industries/services from the beginning, the spokespersonfurther revealed.
Punjabhas 99,834 small power industrial consumers besides 30,176 medium powerconsumers upon whom no usage restriction has been levied at all despite risingdemand for power across domestic sector. To meet up demand supply, large supplyconsumers (5071 in number) which use 1000 KVA SCD had been asked to use 100 KVAfor 12 hours a day. Large supply arc furnaces, of which 282 operate in state,had been restricted to 5% of SCD only.
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Thespokesperson said that despite the failure of TSPL Plant, PSPCL hadsuccessfully met highest ever energy demand of 3066 lakh units on July 1. Theday’s demand had surpassed the earlier record of 3018 lakh units of powersupply in a single day in the state.