Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “Punjab has fallen a lot under Amarinder Singh and Congress. The state is facing power cuts of 10-12 hours. They want to save bills on electricity subsidy. Farmers are compelled. To destroy their crops, they are on the streets”.
Rising power demand and failing infrastructure
Power demand in Punjab has exceeded 14,000 MW in a day, forcing state-owned power utility PSPCL to impose unscheduled power cuts and regulatory measures on the industry. The Punjab government on Thursday reduced the hours of government offices and ordered power supply cuts to industries with high energy consumption as power demand in the state exceeded 14,000 MW in a day. Government offices in Ludhiana switched off their air conditioners in line with Punjab Chief Minister’s appeal for judicious use of electricity.
Commenting on this, A Venu Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary (Taxation) and Chairman and Managing Director, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited said that the failure of the thermal plant operated by private sector to provide committed supply during peak season resulted in power shortage has arisen. According to PTI in the state. He told a seminar here that the delay in monsoon has led to severe power outages in the state. He said the situation would improve once it rains.
The official further said that the demand for work from home and air conditioning has also increased significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal joined the protests in Lambi, Fazilka and Ghubaya and held Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh “fully responsible for the plight of the people”. He alleged that the Chief Minister has not held a single review meeting of the power utility to ensure adequate supply of electricity to the paddy farmers. He said this was done deliberately to keep the subsidy bill low. He said that the Congress government does not want to provide free electricity to the farmers and that is why it is not supplying electricity when it is needed the most.
Badal further said that the state government did not make any effort to ensure timely maintenance of thermal plants which led to the closure of the Lehra Mohabbat plant as well as a unit of the Talwandi Sabo plant.
Meanwhile, AAP’s state chief and MP Bhagwant Mann announced that his party would gherao Amarinder Singh’s Siswan farmhouse on July 3 to protest the power cut in the state. He said that on July 3, the people of Punjab will check the electricity meters of Siswan Farmhouse to see how many hours there is power failure. The AAP MP said that farmers are forced to carry paddy to their fields due to non-availability of electricity from tube wells.
#watch | Police use water cannons to disperse Aam Aadmi Party workers protesting near Punjab CM Amarinder Singh’s ‘Siswan Farm House’ in view of the power crisis in the state. pic.twitter.com/RreKmirjzr
— ANI (@ANI) 3 July 2021
He alleged that due to Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) private companies can shut down thermal plants at their discretion and in case of thermal plant closure, Punjab government will have to pay a certain fee.
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