Less demand: power units shut
Kamaldeep Singh Brar [email protected]
BATHINDA:

For the first time in the history, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has shut down its power production units owing to less demand during the peak summer season.

Since May 29, power plants at Bathinda, Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat have been running half on their capacity. The PSPCL has 14 power generation units in Punjab, of which 13 are in a working condition while one is under renovation. Three units were shut down on May 29 owing to less demand of power.

Sources said these units resumed after 22 hours, but the PSPCL had to shut down eight units on May 31. These units were restarted on May 6.
However, the less demand of power again forced the authorities to shut down seven units across the state. Till the last reports, three power units in Ropar, two each in Lehra and Bathinda were shut down.

In summers, the power units are often shut down due to the high demand and overloading. This time, however, the PSPCL has to shut down power units because the state government has purchased excess power.
With elections year, excess power maye be good news for the Akali-BJP government, but power corporation and consumers are at the receiving end.
They would have to pay for the costly power the Punjab government, apprehending shortage, purchased from other states. “The government does not want to invite anger of consumers and made arrangement to buy power from other states at high prices. However, the demand did not turn out as high as it was supposed to be, which forced the PSPCL to shut down its units,“ said a power corporation official.

He said the practice, however, is not good for the state's economy. “The frequent switching down and restarted power units not only damage to the PSPCL infrastructure, but also affects the state's economy badly,“ he said, adding that the government should have made flexible agreements with other states to ensure better utilisation of its own resources.