Punjab's 4 thermal power units shut after snag

Chandigarh, January 6

The power supply to rural areas of the state was hit today as four thermal power units shut down after developing a technical snag. People faced power cuts ranging from 2-3 hours.

While three units at the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant, Ropar, shut down because of technical snags, one unit at the Talwandi Sabo Power Plant too developed a technical snag. Two units — one each at Ropar and Talwandi Sabo — developed a leakage in boilers. This led to the state power generation capacity taking a hit of 1290 MW.

With the demand for power being unprecedented for the winter season, the power utilities were forced to impose outages in the rural areas. “By buying power from the exchange, we are able to supply 7500 MW power today, though the demand remains high around 8500 MW,” a senior officer in the Punjab State Power Corporation told The Tribune.

Sources said one of the units at Ropar was restored late evening. The other two units at Ropar and one at Talwandi Sabo would be restored within two days, he said.