Power crises loom large in Punjab amid demand rise
With a sudden rise in temperature and never-seen-before hike in coal prices, power crises are looming large on Punjab.
According to sources, the private thermal plants in Punjab have only one to six days of coal left.
In such a situation, Punjab's new Aam Aadmi Party administration is in disarray. The Punjab government has dispatched a team of officials to Jharkhand to ensure adequate coal supply in light of the deteriorating situation.
Meanwhile, private thermal plant production is likely to be disrupted.
As per the reports, there is only 6 days of coal left at the Rajpura Thermal Plant, which has a capacity of 1400 MW. Due to a technical issue, one of its units was shut down on Saturday. However, it is scheduled to reopen in the coming days.
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The 1980 MW Talwandi Sabo thermal plant has only half a day of coal stock, while at the Goindwal Sahib plant, there is only two days of coal left. It has a 540 MW capacity, however, only one unit is operational.
The 340 percent hike in coal prices in the e-auctions held by coal India limited is being blamed for the shortfall.
PSPCL, on the other hand, is struggling to meet demand as electricity demand in the state has jumped by an average of 1000 MW over the same period last year due to the early advent of summers.
Punjab's daily energy requirement has fluctuated between 7,395 MW and 8,490 MW over the last two weeks.
The AAP government is working to resolve the problem.
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-PTC Report by Gagandeep Ahuja
