Time and again rapping his party's government in Punjabon the knuckles for its failure to provide free power up to 300 units to thedomestic consumers, state Congress President Navjot Sidhu on Monday demanded toextend the special Assembly session to terminate the power purchase agreements(PPAs) signed with private companies.
"Punjab government must immediately issue directionsto PSERC (Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission) in public interest torevise tariff being paid to private power plants making the faulty PPAs nulland void. Further calling a five-seven day Vidhan Sabha Session to bring a newlegislation for termination of faulty PPAs," Sidhu tweeted.
"This will help Punjab government give 300 units offree power to all domestic consumers, including general category, decreasedomestic tariff to Rs 3 per unit and Rs 5 per unit for industry, along withredressal of all outstanding bills, waiving-off the unjustifiable andexorbitant bills," he added.
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In his earlier tweets, Sidhu had blamed the PPAs that theprevious government had signed with three private thermal power plants and saidtill 2020 Punjab had paid Rs 5,400 crore due to faulty clauses in theseagreements. It is expected to pay Rs 65,000 crore of people's money just asfixed charges.
Favouring the need to set aside the PPAs, Sidhu had saidthe state can purchase power from the national grid at much cheaper rates."But these Badal-signed PPAs are acting against Punjab's public interest.Punjab may not be able to re-negotiate these PPAs due to them having legalprotection from honourable courts, but there is a way forward," he hadsaid.