According to details procured from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, the average daily power supply in the state in the first 10 days of May was 1,894 lakh units while it was 1,505 lakh units last year during corresponding period. The increase in supply is of over 25 per cent. The maximum power supply made by the corporation was 2,194 lakh units, on May 9. Daily power generation in Punjab has improved after the state government took over the Goindwal Sahib thermal plant and it is around 286 lakh units. The coal stock at all three state-run plants is available for 25 days each. In the private sector, the Rajpura thermal plant has 26 days’ coal stock while the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant has 6 days’ coal stock.
“In the case of Haryana, the average daily power supply in the first 10 days of May has increased from1,456 lakh units last year to 1,940 lakh units this year. To meet the gap between demand and supply, the state utilities had sought power purchase from May to October. The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has allowed power purchase between July and October,” said Vinod Gupta, spokesperson of the All India Power Engineers Federation and an expert on the issue.According to available data, the maximum daily power demand in Haryana last year was 13,055 MW and utilities expect that this will be over 14,000 MW this year. The demand may touch 14,500 MW, according to experts.
Punjab has seen a consistent rise in the demand for power for the last four months. The maximum power demand in the last financial year was 15,325 MW. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited expects that the peak demand for electricity will be for around 16,000 MW, but this may cross 16,500-MW mark this summer.
A senior officer of the corporation said that with increased withdrawals from the northern grid, all power consumers in Punjab would be provided uninterrupted power supply during the season.