Do not create private sector monopoly in generation—PSEB engineers
Vinod Kumar Gupta
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
ROPAR: Punjab Government is trying to create the private sector monopoly in generation by handing over all future thermal plants which will be detrimental to the state interests, said H S Bedi President of PSEB Engineers Association.
Bedi was addressing regional meeting of Association held at Ropar which was attended by more than 250 engineers. Power engineers condemned the unnecessary delay by the Punjab Government to grant approval to set up 1320 MW thermal power plant under state sector near Mukerian.

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

Electricity Act 2003 was enacted to create healthy competition between private and public sector plants to increase efficiency. However, in Punjab, private sector is being allowed to take over the generation business by eliminating state sector participation in new projects which will increase the cost of power in the coming years leading to sharp rise in consumer tariff.

All the states are adding own generation by investing 20% equity from the resources of the state government but Punjab is the only state which is dreaming of becoming power surplus without investing single paisa in any project. Even financially bankrupt state like Uttar Pradesh is adding 1500 MW under state sector in the near future. Rajasthan has already commissioned 1289 MW under state sector during last four years and is likely to add another 2360 MW with government finances in near future.

Bhupinder Singh General Secretary of Association said that it was decided to resume its agitation in case approval is unnecessarily delayed for setting up 1320 MW thermal plant under state sector and future course of action will be announced at the zonal meeting at Bathinda on July 9. It was also decided that Association will soon issue a white paper on the lopsided policy of the Punjab government to hand over its entire future generation plants to private sector that too in a non transparent MOU route rather than through international competitive bidding.