Ahead of paddy season, power demand surpasses 9,400 MW in Punjab

Aman Sood

Patiala, May 14

With the rise in mercury, state’s power demand crossed 9,400 MW today. In the past one week, an increase of 2,300 MW has been witnessed in demand.

Despite no office supply load on May 13 (Saturday), the power demand touched 9,418 MW. The power demand would likely touch 15,500 MW in July during the peak paddy season.

PSPCL asks ministry to curtail supply

• The coal stock at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat is sufficient for 42 days and 34 days, respectively
• The PSPCL has asked the Coal Ministry to curtail supply for a few days and divert coal to pvt thermal plants in Punjab

A senior Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) official said, “So far, no cut has been imposed on any category. There is ample power available to meet the rising demand.”

Units fully operational

Now, three units each at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar are fully operational. One unit at Ropar is non-operational due to less demand. All seven units at private thermal plants are operating at full capacity. A PSPCL official

On May 12, the maximum power demand in the morning was more than 9,150 MW with supply of 1,862 lakh units. On May 11, the PSPCL supplied 1,792 lakh units with a maximum demand of 8,856 MW.

In May 2022, the power demand had crossed 10,600 MW with a supply of more than 2,300 lakh units.

In the first week of May, the maximum demand remained around 7,000 MW due to wet and cloudy conditions. During this period, units at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant, Ropar; Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat; and GVK Power Plant, Goindwal; were shut due to less demand.

“Now, three units each at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar are fully operational. One unit of Ropar is lying shut due to less demand. All seven units at private thermal plants are operational,” said a PSPCL official.

VK Gupta, spokesperson, All India Power Engineers’ Federation, said, “The PSPCL hopes to meet maximum anticipated demand of 15,500 MW. During winter and lean periods, the PSPCL supplied power to various states, including 1,000 MW to Karnataka under the banking arrangements. The PSPCL will be getting up to 3,000 MW from these states during the paddy season.”

Further, the PSPCL hopes to withdraw 9,500 MW of power from the northern grid, an increase of 1,000 MW from the existing capacity, after strengthening its transmission network. The PSPCL claimed that the transfer capacity from northern grid would be increased from 8,500 MW to 9,500 MW.

The coal stock at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat is sufficient for 42 days and 34 days, respectively. In the wake of sufficient coal stock, the PSPCL has asked the Coal Ministry to curtail supply for a few days. Coal India Limited has agreed to divert coal to private thermal plants in Punjab.

A senior PSPCL official said, “In the past 10 days, the PSPCL purchased low cost power at around Rs 3 per unit during solar hours (day time) and sold power above Rs 9 per unit during evening and night hours.”