Punjab faces challenge of keeping all switches on

Rs 1,600 crore has been paid by the state for power needed for the paddy season

With the start of paddy season, the power scenario in Punjab is likely to turn grim. Though the state power corporation is yet to make a formal announcement regarding scheduled power cuts, many parts of the state are facing unscheduled power cuts.

A spokesperson of the state said it had managed to generate 3,600 Mw versus a demand of 8,900 Mw. Paddy cultivation started today. He said an amount of Rs 1,600 crore has been paid by the Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) for the electricity needed for the paddy season to ensure daily eight-hour electricity supply to farmers.

He said of the total procurement of power, 1,950 Mw is being purchased for a shorter time period whereas 3,350 Mw electricity would be procured for a longer time period.

However, insiders mentioned that the peak power demand this year in the coming days is expected to touch 12,500 MW, as compared to 11,520 MW in 2012. Also, the per capita power consumption of power is witnessing sharp growth in the state, it was 1204 units in 2012-13. Senior officials mentioned that in the coming days the demand and supply gap will further widen. There would be shortfall of around 3,000 MW. The demand for power in the state is rising sharply on account of rapidly increasing use of electrical energy for agricultural operations, progressive industrialization, high living standard of residents and intensive rural electrification programme.

Having little options, the government would be forced to impose long-duration cuts in the coming days. It is worth mentioning that even in last year during peak season, PSPCL imposed four-day weekly off on industrial consumers while the duration (at intervals) in the domestic sector spanned to a maximum of 12 hours in a day.

It is worth mentioning that the installed power generation of the state was 7035 MW as on March 31, 2012 and the peak unrestricted demand was about 9600 MW in 2011-12. Further, out of the total, 4878 MW is from own power houses, 184 MW from Micro Hydel/Bio-Mass & other projects and 1993 MW is Punjab's share from central power project.