Surjewala: State bearing burden of Adani-Khattar friendship

Chandigarh, April 23

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Lashing out at the BJP-JJP government today over the power crisis, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala has said the state residents were bearing the burden of the friendship between Adani Power and the Khattar government.

He said the projected power demand in May was 9,500 MW. “The power demand will increase to 12,000 MW or more between July and September. As against this, Haryana is looking at a power shortfall between 3,000 MW-4,000 MW during this period.”

“The reason is zero supply of 1,424 MW by Adani Power, Mundra, Gujarat, and the failure to produce adequate electricity at the state’s own plants,” he added.

He alleged this was happening on the account of a sinister nexus between Khattar government and the private power generators.

He pointed out that Adani Power had not been supplying electricity to Haryana Discoms since the beginning of 2021, mainly on the premise that imported coal from Indonesia had become expensive. Instead of binding them down and enforcing the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the Khattar government has chosen to take no action.

“Instead, the Khattar government is buying short-term power at rates ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 8 per unit, thereby burdening the exchequer with hundreds of crores. Even the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), in its order dated April 6, has questioned the Khattar government for not buying short-term power at the risk and cost of Adani Power.” —