Dwindling rain leads to increase in demand for power in Punjab

PATIALA: Dwindling rain has been accompanied by an upsurge in power demand in Punjab. As on Sunday, the state consumed around 11,117 MW of power, forcing Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to fire up all state-owned thermal units. Independent power producers are also chipping in to the best of their capacity, but GVK thermal power plant is under a forced shut-down due to coal shortage. The power corporation is meeting demand by sourcing electricity from outside the state.

As on Sunday, four thermal units in Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat thermal power plant were generating 1,396 MW of power while independent power producers chipped in with 2,159 MW of power.

The state was able to provide around 733 MW for hydel power projects and around 100 MW was provided by solar power plants, taking the total generation from its own sources to 5,000 MW on Sunday evening.

Around 5,300 MW power was procured from sources outside the state to ensure uninterrupted supply, including the scheduled eight hours for agricultural connections.

Chairman-cum-managing director, PSPCL Baldev Singh said despite GVK closing down a 270 MW unit due to coal shortage, the power corporation has been able to maintain uninterrupted supply to all categories of consumers across the state without imposing any regulatory measures. On reports of power cuts in parts of the state, the CMD said these could have been caused by local system breakdown as there was no shortage of power in the state.

Meanwhile, the metrological department said the axis of the monsoon trough at mean sea level continues to pass through Amritsar and Chandigarh, which would bring rain in the next 48 hours. This will reduce the demand for power to around 7, 000 MW or 8,000 MW.