To provide quality power to consumers across the state, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday asked PSPCL to go for clean and green power at a competitive price.

Chairing a meeting with officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), the chief minister said solar power is cost-effective and reliable besides being clean.

Green source of energy would go a long way in ensuring a healthy and pollution-free environment, he said.

PSPCL Chairman and Managing Director A Venu Prasad informed the chief minister that PSPCL has floated two tenders for procurement of a total of 500-megawatt solar power.

Out of this, 250 MW solar power is planned to be procured from solar power projects located anywhere in India with a ceiling tariff of Rs 2.50 per kWh (kilowatt-hour), according to an official statement issued here.

Apart from this, another 250 MW of solar power would be purchased from solar power projects located anywhere in Punjab with a ceiling tariff of Rs 2.70 per Kwh, Prasad said.

He added that the move will meet the rising power demand in Punjab and simultaneously develop and promote renewable sources of energy.

Briefing the chief minister about the current coal shortages in the power plants in the state, the CMD said the situation is prevalent across all the thermal power plants in India due to less production of coal by Coal India Ltd, as per the official statement.

He also explained ''how with great difficulty the power is being managed by PSPCL''.

''All possible avenues are being explored to supply uninterrupted and quality power to the people of the state,'' Prasad.