Considering the continuous shortage of power with scattered rains providing no relief, Punjab Government has decided to extend the industry closure by another four days. The industry closure, started on July 2, has been extended up to 8 am on July 15.
Reeling under an unprecedented power shortage leading to unscheduled load shedding in urban and rural areas, amid scorching heat, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had announced to cut down power supply to the industry, including rolling mills and induction furnaces, till July 11, which has now been extended by another four days.
Punjab’s power situation has worsened after all three units of Talwandi Sabo power plant stopped working due to technical glitches. Besides, the low reservoir levels in Bhakra Dam and Ranjit Sagar Dam are also resulting in less power generation.
The total power supply from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is 156 lakh units, including 92 lakh units from Bhakra powerhouses. Ranjit Sagar Dam project is generating 103 lakh units, and only three out of its four units are generating power.
At Bhakra reservoir, the water level is 1538.23 feet against the previous year’s level of 1592.82 feet — which is down by 54 feet. At Ranjit Sagar Dam, the reservoir water level is down by 1631 feet against the previous year’s level of 1678 feet — down by 53 feet.
The state power utility has been trying to supply power to the agriculture sector for six and half hours, while the official power cuts, ranging between five to eight hours, are imposed on domestic consumers.
The state’s transmission capacity has been increased by 500 MW during the day and 1000 MW during the night.
Currently, the demand and supply gap is more than 3,000 MW. The real loss due to the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant during the day is 1400 MW and during night 900 MW.
The power supply, a day before, was 2894 lakh units with a maximum demand of 12,260 MW. The power demand in the state has touched 15,500 MW but PSPCL has not been able to supply more than 13,000 MW due to less generation within Punjab.
TALWANDI SABO PLANT TO BE MADE OPERATIONAL BY MONTH END
All the three units of the 1,980 MW coal-fired thermal power plant, Vedanta’s Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) in Mansa district, would be operational by the end of this month. The official statement by the TSPL maintained that its engineers are on war footing to rectify a technical snag.
“The components have already arrived from China and shall reach the plant within a day. Thanks to CMD, PSPCL to get it cleared early from the customs. It is expected that within next week, two units shall be functional and by the end of this month, all the three units will be operational,” it said.
“In an unprecedented chain of events, the current breakdown of two of our units is unfortunate; restoration of one of these is expected within 48 hours, while the other one might take a little longer. We are targeting all the three units of TSPL to be operational by the end of the month and functional to the full capacity,” added the statement.
Vedanta's Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) is a supercritical 1,980 MW world-class thermal power plant at Banawala in Mansa district of Punjab.