Power Generation Less Than Half In Punjab: Another Thermal Plant Unit Shutdown; coal stock of 36 hours in private and 4 days in government; There will be a power cut of 4 to 6 hours till October 15

Powercom has appealed to the people to save electricity. – symbolic photo

The power crisis in Punjab is deepening. Due to the shortage of coal, electricity generation has fallen to less than half. The sixth thermal plant unit in the state has to be closed. One unit of Goindwal Sahib had to be closed on Sunday. However, out of the 5 units that were shut down earlier, one was later decommissioned. At present, 36 hours of coal is left with private thermal plants.

At the same time, 11 rakes of coal have arrived for government thermal plants on Sunday, which will take 2 to 3 days to reach the plant. The plants which are running are also producing half the electricity capacity. It is clear from these circumstances that the people of Punjab will still have to face power cuts of 4 to 6 hours till October 15.

Powercom CMD A. Venuprasad said that coal is not coming as per the requirement. We needed 22 rakes of coal but got only 11. Because of this, there has been a huge gap between the production and demand of electricity. He expressed hope that after the next 4 days, the power situation will start improving.

Have to buy power unit for Rs 11.60

The power demand in Punjab is around 8,300 MW per day. At present, half of this electricity is being generated in government and private thermal plants. Power generation at government thermal plants has fallen to 1,500 MW. After which the Punjab government is now buying electricity from the National Grid at the rate of Rs 11.60 per unit. On Sunday also 1,800 MW power was purchased. Despite this, people have to face power cuts during the festival season.

Unit closed due to shortage of coal

Due to shortage of coal, only 5 out of 8 units of Powercom operated Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat and 5 out of 7 units of private Rajpura, Talwandi Sabo and Goindwal Sahib could run on Sunday. Of these, a unit of Talwandi Sabo was later moved. However, not all plants are still producing electricity at full capacity. Punjab needs about 8,300 MW and against this the state got only 3,206 MW. In such a situation, expensive electricity has to be purchased from outside.

Jalandhar had to face 6 hours cut

Due to power shortage, there is a situation of blackout in entire Punjab for few hours. In Jalandhar, there was a cut of about 6 hours in two times on Sunday. During this there was a power outage in the entire city. In other districts also, cuts ranging from one to four hours are being imposed.