Engineers suggest ways to reduce power tariff in state

Jalandhar, March 21

The Punjab Power Engineers Association today sought the government’s help and cooperation to reduce the power tariff in the state.

At a meeting, association president Bhupinder Singh said that if the Punjab government could acquire a coal mine to get the coal directly for power plants, the power tariff would be reduced up to 30 paisa per unit. He said if the government could own even a single power plant among plants which were being run privately, there would be huge benefits to the PSPCL. “The government-run power plants including those at Bathinda, Ropar and Lehra Mohhabat are not functional. We make them functional when the power demand increases in the summer season,” he added.

He said due to the untiring efforts of engineers and employees, the theft of energy in the state had been curtailed. “The Aggregate Transformation and Commercial (AT&C) losses at 14 per cent are one of the lowest in the country,” he claimed. He said the losses of the neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were in the range of 30 per cent that makes power costlier in these states. —TNS