The newly-appointed chairman-cum-managing direction (CMD) of Punjab power utility, A Venu Prasad, has issued directions to release all new connections in the State including general services, commercial or industrial within a week.
Punjab State Power Corporation limited’s (PSPCl) director distribution Kl Sharma said that instructions have been passed to all the heads of the department for strict compliance and regular monitoring by them and the Chief Engineers.
Prasad’s move to kick start a special drive was aimed at increasing the state’s power consumption.
The move came days after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report has indicted the State power utility for “underusing” its own plants and “purchasing” electricity from private players for a period between 2013 and 2016.
The report pointed that increase in demand for power, during this period, was met exclusively by purchasing power from private power producers at a cost of Rs 2,250 crore and generation in its own plants went down.
The PSPCl has own thermal generating units at Ropar, Bathinda and lehragaga and also draws power from Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
Notably, PSPCl had been producing in excess since past two years after the private thermal plants started producing power in the state.
PSPCl has been trying to sell 1000 MW as it had been paying fixed charges of Rs 1,900 crore to private power generators under the prolonged power agreements (PPA) signed with them whether the electricity generated by these plants was consumed or not.
Additional power is available to Punjab from private plants, including 540 MW (2x270 MW) from the GVK Thermal Power Project near Goindwal Sahib and 1,980 MW (3x660 MW) from the Talwandi Sabo Power limited (TSPl).
In December 2016, PSPCl had failed to find a buyer for excess power for the second time in a row.