PSEB engineers: Pvt firms exploiting power sector
Megha Mann/TNS

Ropar, June 29
The state government is trying to create private-sector monopoly in the power generation, which is proving detrimental to the common man in Punjab. This was stated by the members of the PSEB Engineers’ Associationat at a meeting held at the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power (GGSSTP) here today.

Two hundred fifty engineers working at the Ropar Thermal Plant, Mohali and Ropar distribution circles and BBMB’s other offices at Chandigarh participated in the meeting.

President HS Bedi said the SAD-BJP Government has handed over all the future thermal plants to the private sector, thereby monopolising the power generation. “All the states are investing 20 per cent equity from the resources of the state government (not the generating company). But Punjab is the only state that dreams of becoming power surplus without investing even a penny in any project. Uttar Pradesh is adding 1,500 MW under the state sector, Rajasthan has already commissioned 1,289 MW under it in the last four years and is likely to add another 2,360 MW with government finances. Punjab is the only state in the country that has not planned even one MW under the state sector,” said the engineers.

Association general secretary Bhupinder Singh said the association would soon issue a white paper on lopsided policy of the Punjab Government to handover all its future generation plants to the private sector, that, too, through a non-transparent MoU route rather than adopting international competitive bidding.

Engineers said while the government was promoting private players, it had barred the state agencies from setting up the new plants. The PSPCL had proposed to set up 1,320 MW thermal power plant under the state sector near Mukerian, however, the state government had delayed granting the approval.

The PSPCL is meeting 52 per cent of demand of its consumers from own generation and rest from the central sector allocation and power purchase from the private players. With commissioning of the new plants under the private sector, without any addition in the generation under the state sector, share of own generation will go down to less than 19 per cent. “This will be inadequate to run the grid operations in an economical manner,” they pointed out.

The aim of the policy to remove the barriers for setting up new generation plants under the Electricity Act-2003 was to create healthy competition between the private and public sector plants to increase efficiency, thus lowering the power cost. However, the private sector is being allowed to take over the generation business by eliminating the state participation in the new projects, which will increase the cost in the coming years, leading to sharp rise in the tariff.

The engineers have threatened to resume agitation in case approval was unnecessarily delayed for the Mukerian plan and the future course of action would be announced at the zonal meeting at Bathinda on July 9.