Punjab’s peak power demand crossed 16,130 MW on Wednesday, surging rapidly amid intense heat waves and the onset of the third phase of the paddy transplantation season. However, with a spell of rain predicted in the coming three days, there could be some respite for the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
As rising day temperatures on June 10 caused power demand to hit 16,130 MW, some parts of the state saw unscheduled power cuts during the afternoon. Last year, on June 10, the maximum power demand was 16,192 MW, while supply stood at 3,383 lakh units. The power demand on Tuesday was 15,400 MW.
Punjab’s own gross generation was over 5,286 MW on Wednesday afternoon. The state has been buying cheaper solar power to meet day-time demand but two thermal units at Ropar and one at Goindwal were down due to technical faults, leading to a shortage in supply.
The public sector thermal units’ generation stood at 1,336 MW, while the private sector generated 2,783 MW. Two units of Ranjit Sagar were operational and 444 MW of power was sourced via solar projects. The draw schedule of PSPCL from the northern grid stood at 10,558 MW in the afternoon. With the paddy transplantation schedule entering its final phase, power demand has risen by over 2,000 MW in the past three days.
A senior PSPCL official said, “With a rain spell expected in the coming days, the power demand will fall. The demand has touched 1,6000 MW and in case of scattered rain in Punjab, fields will not need to run tubewells for paddy. This will ensure that the power demand goes down. Further, the number of air conditioners running will also come down significantly. We expect demand to come down by 3,500 to 4,500 MW for a few days", he said.
“The shift from gas-based energy to electricity-based energy has merely transferred pressure from one stressed system to another. The rise in fuel prices only added to public woes,” said VK Gupta, spokesperson, All India Power Engineers Federation. Meanwhile, PSPCL officials claimed there was ample electricity available and cuts were imposed only during “urgent situations or due to technical glitches”.
