1 week ago
Deficient Monsoon Drives Punjab’s Costly Power Purchases
Punjab needed much more electricity than usual on September 2.
Farmers used more tubewells because the monsoon was 36% below normal.
Tubewells need electricity to pump groundwater for paddy fields.
Some state power plants also produced less electricity because employees were on strike.
So Punjab’s electricity utility bought a large amount of power from outside sources.
This cost about Rs 119.5 crore for one day.
Some industries had their electricity switched off for several hours.
A power department engineer also said free electricity encouraged some households to use more electrical appliances.
Punjab’s peak power demand rose 139.3% year-on-year to 16,343 MW on September 2.
The state purchased 2,709.45 lakh units at an average Rs 4.41 per unit.
Finance Minister Harpal Cheema attributed the surge to deficient monsoon rains and paddy irrigation.
A power employees’ strike and reduced state generation increased reliance on outside electricity.
Industrial consumers faced rotational cuts as PSPCL reported a 31.4-lakh-unit shortfall.
- Who
- Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, farmers, power employees, households and industrial consumers were involved; officials cited included Harpal Cheema and Tarunpreet Singh Sond.
- What
- Punjab’s peak electricity demand surged, prompting PSPCL to buy 2,709.45 lakh units for a tentative Rs 119.49 crore while imposing some industrial cuts.
- Where
- Punjab, including industrial areas and cities such as Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh.
- When
- September 2; the report also states that demand was 15,928 MW on September 1.
- Why
- A deficient monsoon increased electricity use for paddy irrigation, while reduced state generation and a power employees’ strike worsened the supply gap.
Government and Utility Explanation
Industry and Alternative Concerns
Main cause of the demand surge
Government and Utility Explanation
Harpal Cheema said the 36% deficient monsoon forced farmers to rely more heavily on tubewells to irrigate paddy, while reduced generation and the employee strike added pressure.
Industry and Alternative Concerns
A power department engineer said the free 300-unit electricity scheme also encouraged some households to install and use more appliances, increasing domestic consumption.
Managing the shortfall
Government and Utility Explanation
The government relied on costly outside power purchases to avoid prolonged cuts for domestic consumers and said talks with striking employees were continuing.
Industry and Alternative Concerns
Industrialist Badish Jindal said scheduled and unscheduled cuts were seriously affecting industry, especially continuous-process units that cannot easily stop machinery.
Impact of industrial restrictions
Government and Utility Explanation
PSPCL reported no scheduled cuts for Category-I industrial consumers and important cities, while using rotational cuts to cover the 31.4-lakh-unit deficit.
Industry and Alternative Concerns
Jindal said evening cuts could damage raw materials, products and equipment, raise restarting costs, reduce productivity and weaken Punjab’s competitiveness.
Key facts
- Peak demand
- 16,343 MW on September 2, compared with 6,830 MW on the corresponding day last year.
- Year-on-year increase
- 139.3%.
- Monsoon status
- Punjab’s monsoon was reported to be 36% deficient.
- Power purchased
- 2,709.45 lakh units.
- Purchase cost
- Tentative bill of Rs 119.49 crore, averaging Rs 4.41 per unit.
- Available versus required
- 3,316.41 lakh units were available against a requirement of 3,347.81 lakh units.
- Industrial cuts
- PSPCL imposed 31.4 lakh units of cuts; some Category-II and Category-III consumers faced cuts of about three hours and 45 minutes.
- State-owned generation
- State sources supplied 612.65 lakh units, including 199.46 lakh units from thermal plants.
Quotes
Harpal Cheema
Punjab finance minister
“This was bound to happen. The farmers had to depend on irrigation from underground aquifers and pump sets to irrigate the paddy crop. The heat is still unrelenting.”
indianexpress.com
“PSPCL’s decision to impose power cuts on industries from 7 pm to midnight is seriously affecting the sector”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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