Power engineers protest proposed closure of Bathinda thermal plants

Patiala, October 5

The power engineers said they had been working, wearing black badges, for the past one week to register their protest against the government’s proposal. The engineers took out gate rallies at Lehra Mohabatt and Bhatinda as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) failed to provide any relief in this regard.

The PSEB Engineers’ Associations alleged that the Punjab Government in connivance with the PSPCL management was planning to close the state-owned thermal plants in order to give undue benefits to private players. 

The engineers said the public sector thermal plants could meet the present power requirements of the state but the government was hell bent upon on the closure of the state-run plants. “The public money is being wasted as the Bathinda thermal units were recently renovated but the government wanted to shut these. In addition to it, private generators are being paid handsomely in the form of fixed charges. The supply of coal to the public sector plants has also been reduced by PSPCL,” they said.