Scorching heat means Punjab districts sizzle with over 43 degrees Celsius, and as a result the power demand in Punjab is rising everyday. With many areas of Punjab facing power pangs due to the faulty lines and other issues, there seems to be no respite from power cuts and high temperature.
With no rain spell predicted for the next almost a week, the demand is likely to touch 14000 MW, even as the paddy season demand will add more to it by June first week.
According to official data, the power demand on Wednesday is already around 13,900 MW — a peak this season. “With more heat, the load increases due to maximum use of air conditioners and coolers. Further the summer holidays are yet to start in schools and other educational institutes which add more to power consumption,” said a senior official.
Meanwhile, residents in many parts of the state including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Nabha, Amritsar and Ferozepur complained of power cuts. Usually a cut of around 30 minutes to an hour is normal these days, they rue.
Senior officials say that a power cut is the last option but “some measures are adopted to manage stability due to high demand for power”.
With the paddy season schedule announced, starting June 1, Punjab’s electricity demand is projected to increase by six per cent and reach a record level of over 1,8000 MW. Every paddy season, over 13.94 lakh tubewells pump out gallons of water to irrigate fields, a majority of these borewells are located in the districts with overexploited water table.
According to experts in the power sector, the maximum power demand during the coming paddy season is expected to cross 18,000 MW while it was above 17,200 MW during the last paddy season of 2025. Ahead of the crucial Vidhan Sabha elections, this is the last paddy season of the incumbent government and like last year, the zone-wise cultivation of the paddy crop will start from June 1 and the government would hope to meet the highest power demand in the history of the state.
Punjab paddy season begins from June 1 and paddy cultivation covers over 30 lakh hectares and as per weather predictions this year, the number of heat wave days will be more as compared to last year and the monsoon will be below normal of last 10 years’ average. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is gearing up for an eight-hour power supply to tube wells amid not so favourable conditions.
Even in April this year, the maximum power demand crossed 12,000 MW, an increase of 800 MW over last April demand.
