Pointing out that thepower purchase agreements signed by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government werealready under review, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturdaysaid his government would soon announce its legal strategy to counter the PPAs,which had put an atrociously unnecessary financial burden on the state.
The Chief Minister, whochaired a meeting to review the power situation in the state, said later that acarefully charted legal course of action was being formulated to save Punjab fromfurther financial losses due to the ill-conceived PPAs signed by the Badalsduring their rule. Of the 139 PPAs signed during by the SAD-BJP Government, 17were enough to cater to the state’s full power demand, he pointed out, addingthat the remaining 122 for 1314 MWs of expensive power were inexplicablysigned, putting unnecessary financialburden on the state.
Even as he appealed tothe people to use power judiciously and cooperate with the government inovercoming the temporary shortage of power, the Chief Minister said against thesupply of 13500 MW, the demand last week touched an unprecedented 16000 MW.Immediately, PSPCL started purchasing 7400 MW of power from outside the state,he disclosed, adding that this was 1000 MW more than what was purchased last year. Had the quantum of purchase not been promptly enhanced, the state wouldhave faced an additional deficit of 1000 MW of power, further aggravating thecrisis, he pointed out.
The Chief Minister saidthe present crisis was the result of failure of one unit of the Talwandi SaboPower Plant, generating 660 MW of power. While a notice had already been issuedto the plant by PSPCL for imposing a heavy penalty, the state government had,on its part, taken strong measures to address the power shortage, he added.These measures, he said, included three weekly days off for the industry,including rolling mills and induction furnaces, from July 1 to 7. Onlyessential services and continuous process industries have been exempted fromthese regulations, he added. Further, the state government offices have alsobeen directed to function from 8 AM to 2 PM till July 10, with the use of airconditioners prohibited in these offices.
Asserting hisgovernment’s commitment to ensure that the situation is quickly eased, theChief Minister said the power distribution system in the state had improvedsignificantly over the past four years. He said that 2 lakh new Distribution Transformers have been installed, takingthe total figure to 11.50 Lakh. Transformers have also been installed at the sub-stations to keep thesupply stable, he added.
Further, to improve thetransmission system, he said that 17000 kms of 11 kV and 1372 kms of 66 KVtransmission lines have been added. Seven 220 KV substations and thirty-four 66KV substations have been commissioned, enhancing the capacity by 8423 MVA. Anadditional 54 new 66 KV substations are expected to be completed by November30. In addition, three 33 kV substationshave been upgraded to 66 kV and two 66 kV substations are being upgraded to 220kV, he said.
Meanwhile, aspokesperson of PSPCL said that following the measures taken by the stategovernment, 8 hours of power is being supplied to all the agriculture consumers and there are also no scheduled power cuts on domestic,Commercial, Small, and Medium Supply Industrial consumers in the state. The situation has improved considerably, he said.
On the availability ofpower from the Power Exchange, the spokesperson said the same was highlyunpredictable, with even the rates varying, according to the time of the day,from Rs. 2.32/unit to Rs.10.00/ unit.
On the closure ofBathinda and Ropar Thermal Plants, the spokesperson said that the unit cost ofpower generated by these plants was high since these plants were of old designand required more manpower for operation. The maintenance cost of these plants was also very high, he added.