Chandigarh With coal shortage already causing a power crisis in Punjab, there has also been a fall in power generation at the state’s hydel power generating plants, particularly on the Bhakra. Against the total installed capacity of 1,379 megawatts in 10 power houses on both right and left banks, eight power plants of 1,110 megawatts are in working order. One powerhouse on each bank has been shut down leading t...

The Punjab power scene continues to be grim after the closure of all the four units of Ropar Thermal, three out of four of Lehra Mohabatt thermal has been shut down due to the coal problem. One unit of Talwandi Sabo is also shut down on technical faults. According to a senior PSPCL official, there is no power shortage in the state and with the change, in weather, the power demand has been reduced. Two units each...

Private power producers and some state transmission utilities appear to be making a killing by selling electricity on the exchanges where rates have tripled owing to lower generation as a result of coal shortage, even as power secretary Alok Kumar  asked states to watch out for generators gaming the market and take legal action if imported coal-based power plants refused capacity on any pretext. Data from...

Electricity supply shortage of 82 million units (MU) was recorded on October 12 across the country, a marginal improvement from the deficiency of 86.9 MU a day ago. Highest power supply shortages were recorded in Rajasthan (17.9 MU), Punjab (15.3 MU), Gujarat (12.5 MU), Haryana (8.3 MU) and Bihar (7.8 MU). “India’s power supply fell about 750 MU short of demand during the first 12 days of October, larg...

PSPCL starts hydel generation which usually takes place in summers; 8 of 10 thermal units running at reduced loadThe power crisis in Punjab continued as two units of Talwandi Sabo plant developed snag while a unit of Lehra Mohabatt stopped operations due to coal shortage. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) kept resorting to cuts besides starting hydel generation which usually takes place in summers...

For the fifth consecutive day, power supply in Punjab continued to be erratic and power cuts were imposed on all consumers for two-four hours on Wednesday. On an average, daily power shortage in the state has been about 1000 MW for a week. On Tuesday, 1,865 lakh units were supplied in the state and the shortage was more than 150 lakh units. PSPCL bought 259 lakh units at Rs 14.56 per unit. The coal stock left at Ro...

With elections around the corner in many States, political parties are competing with one another in promising free power, with the Aam Aadmi Party in the lead. Promises are for free power up to 300 units/month for households, free electricity for farmers and waivers of pending bills. Who stands to gain and lose from such promises? ...

  PSPCL  has agreed to purchase  500 MW power from from Tata Power’s imported coal-based power plant at Mundra in Gujarat for one week at Rs 5.50 per unit from October 12 to October 19. PSPCL officials claim that this is only an intermediary arrangement looking into the power shortage in Punjab. PSPCL hopes that with the supply of an adequate number of coal rakes, th...

The coal crisis continues to hit Punjab as power cuts were imposed on Tuesday for the fourth day in a row, ranging from three to nine hours in a day. However, in a slight relief for power plants in the state, some coal rakes arrived in the last 24 hours and one of two units at GVK power plant at Goindwal Sahib, which had to be shut down on Sunday, revived its operations. One unit at the government-run powe...

In a letter to all state governments and distribution companies (discoms), the Union ministry of power requested all states and UTs to utilise unallocated power of the central generating stations (CGS) to meet the requirement of their own consumers only.  The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has drawn up a plan to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to power plants even as the Union power ministry issued ...