Peak demand: PSPCL gets go-ahead to impose power cuts
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has authorised Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to impose rotational power cuts, but with riders, to bridge the gap between demand and supply
Chandigarh : The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has authorised Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to impose rotational power cuts, but with riders, to bridge the gap between demand and supply.
The measures will only be taken in case of exigencies and system requirements, the PSERC said, rejecting the PSPCLs’ demand to impose compulsory day off on the industry in the state.
Searing heatwave and paddy transplantation has pushed Punjab’s peak power demand beyond its maximum supply capacity of 16,000 megawatts (MW).
The PSPCL had approached the power regulator in March saying that the projected unrestricted demand is around 16,057 MW against peak demand of 15,293 MW last year. As such unexpected events and circumstances resulting in imbalance in power demand vis-a-vis availability cannot be ruled out, the PSPCL may be required to impose regulatory measures to maintain grid security, the PSPCL said, seeking day off for industry, beside other load shedding measures. The PSERC called a public hearing in which the industry opposed the move.
On June 14, the power regulator authorised the PSPCL to impose regulatory measures, including rotational power cuts to bridge the gap between demand and supply, but only in case of exigencies and system requirements.
It clearly said that the routine power cuts and compulsory weekly off day(s) will not be imposed in Punjab on any category of consumers.
If regulatory measures for maintaining the grid are necessitated in case of any exigency, the PSPCL may take regulatory measures and impose rotational power cuts for which information will be given to the consumers through SMS/email (including written intimation, wherever possible) and it will be uploaded on its website, reads the PSERC order. Unscheduled load shedding, if any, will only be imposed during any sudden outage of generating units or exigencies in the grid. The duration of such load shedding will be kept to a minimum and should be resorted to only as infrequently as feasible, the PSERC orders said.
“As of now, there is no plan to impose power cuts as the PSPCL is working overtime to meet the demand up to 16,000 MW,” said a PSPCL official. He said the power situation will improve once the monsoon arrives in Punjab, which is expected by June-end or early July.
Sporadic rain and thunderstorm in some parts of the state on Wednesday provided some relief to the PSPCL as the power demand dipped by nearly 1,000 MW. But it is still above 14,000 MW.
To make the matters worse, one unit of Lehra Mohabbat (220 MW) thermal plant and one of Talwandi Sabo (660 MW) plant have gone out of operation due to technical snags. The PSPCL has taken up the matter with the Talwandi Sabo Power Limited to ensure that the unit is made operational at earliest as the power demand is set to remain high during the ongoing paddy sowing season.
