Ruchika M Khanna
Chandigarh, March 27
Even as Punjab continue to struggle to meet its surging demand for electricity, it has been dealt a blow by the Centre with the latter literally asking the state to “fend for itself”.
The Ministry of Power has said they would not be able to allocate more coal to the state and the supply would be in proportion to the stock received from Coal India Limited and Singareni Collearies Company Limited, to make up for any shortfall in coal availability.
Can import 10% of total requirement
- Punjab is required to get maximum of 10 per cent of its annual demand for coal by importing it, and blending it with domestic coal
- The Centre has also asked the state to use biomass pellets of 5 to 7 per cent in the coal-based plants. All three private power plants in the state are running short on coal
A unit of coal-based plants at Goindwal Sahib has been forced shut because of unavailability of coal, while all three units at Talwandi Sabo are unable to work to optimum capacity because of poor stocks at the plant. A unit of Rajpura thermal plant is down due to fault in its equipment and will be operational only by March 31. Being Sunday today, many commercial units were closed and the power demand fell down. As a result, bare minimum power cuts were imposed. However, the demand would again zoom on Monday.
The letter from the ministry, which was sent to the state government today, says the state imported coal for the plants that are categorised as “imported coal-based plants”, so as to avoid putting pressure on domestic coal demand. Punjab is required to get maximum of 10 per cent of its annual demand for coal by importing it, and blending it with domestic coal. The Government of India has also asked the state to use biomass pellets of five to 7 per cent in the coal-based plants.
The letter also hints that the state re-negotiate its power purchase agreement with Coastal Gujarat Power Limited Tata Mundra plant, saying the issue needed to be resolved on the basis of mutual negotiation in a just and transparent manner. Since September last year, this private plant has stopped supplying 475 MW to Punjab, saying they were unable to supply power to the state at the earlier contracted rate as the coal prices had zoomed skywards. The Independent Power Producer has been asking the Punjab Government to increase the rate at which they sell power to the state.
The state, like all other states in the country, has been asked to operationalise its captive coal mine and thus meet its demand. Officials in Punjab State Power Corporation Limited have told The Tribune that the state’s captive coal mine at Pachhwara would be operationalised only in June. The Centre has “advised” Punjab for bundling of renewable energy-based electricity with coal-based generation.
‘Operationalise captive mine’
The state, like all other states in the country, has been asked to operationalise its captive coal mine and thus meet its demand. PSPCL officials said the state’s captive coal mine at Pachhwara would be operationalised only in June. The Centre has advised the state for bundling of renewable energy-based electricity with coal-based generation.
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