Power consumers in Punjab could soon be in for more power cuts due to rising demand, expectedly June onwards which is the peak paddy sowing season.

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has filed a petition before the power regulator Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) “for imposing power cuts due to any power shortage in generation within the state” and experts say that this could mean cuts after the election process in Punjab gets over in June.

However, PSPCL has termed the petition as a “routine exercise”.

Usually, peak demand in Punjab starts after mid-June and continues till September due to the paddy season which means more power supply for over 14 lakh tube wells in Punjab.

PSPCL claims that the two private thermal plants Rajpura (2x700=1,400 MW) and Talwandi Sabo (3x660 = 1,980 MW) have large capacity units. “The forced outage of these generating units for longer duration may necessitate the imposition of regulatory measures on the consumers,” states the petition.

A maximum demand of 3,424 LUs (lakh units) and a peak demand of 15,293 MW were recorded on June 24, 2023, during 2023-24. “During 2024-25, a projected unrestricted demand of around 16,057 MW is being envisaged. At present, the existing available transfer capacity (ATC) and total transfer capacity (TTC) of Punjab has been fixed by the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) as 9,000/9,500 MW respectively,” reads the petition. “Any reduction of internal generation due to forced outage may require the emergent imposition of power regulatory measures during 2024-25 to keep the system running within the limitations of grid code,” it states further.

All-India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta told The Tribune that “power demand across the country is increasing” and populist government schemes and elections would mean more demand. “In case of any outages or technical glitches, which are normal during the peak summer season, PSPCL will be left with no option but to resort to power cuts. It has filed this petition as a precautionary measure,” Gupta stated.

Reacting to the developments, a top PSPCL functionary said that there is “nothing alarming”. “Don’t expect any cuts at all. Sufficient arrangements, including enhancement of ATC, have been made. Already ATC/ TTC has been enhanced and shall be further enhanced by more than 500 MW by June 15, making ATC over 10,000 MW,” he said.

“Further, with sufficient availability of coal at all the thermal plants in the state and running of Goindwal thermal at full capacity of 540 MW after its acquisition by PSPCL, earlier this year, over 6,500 MW power shall be available within the state and with 10,000 MW transmission capacity, PSPCL shall be in a position to meet demand over 16,500 MW against 16,000 MW projected demand,” he told The Tribune, preferring anonymity.

“This is a routine petition — being filed every year just to apprise the regulator about the future scenario. Last year too, a similar petition was filed but no cuts were imposed on any category and even an extra supply of about 12-14 hours per day was given against the committed 8 hours to agriculture pumps. There is nothing to panic,” said a top PSPCL official privy to the matter.

Demand 36% higher

Already the power demand touched 7,748 MW this April so far against 5,955 MW last year. This is 36 percent higher than the previous year. During the first five days of April, the PSPCL not only supplied power to meet this enhanced power demand but sold about 36 MUs (million units) of surplus power in exchange for about Rs 27 crore at Rs 7.50 per unit. This is apart from banking on the export of 1,600 MW to other states to be taken back during the forthcoming paddy season.