Driven by cold wave, power consumption in Punjab up 10%

Aman Sood

Patiala, January 22

Following one of the longest spells of ‘no-sun’ days in recent years and biting cold conditions, power consumption in the first three weeks of January in the state shot up by 10.6 per cent as compared to last year.

The power demand rose from 32,047 million units in 21 days of January 2023 to 35,451 million units during the corresponding period this year. The maximum power demand of a day touched a new high of 9,461 MW against last January’s high of 9,051 MW during the corresponding period. The maximum average demand is 8,582 MW while the demand, in routine, hovers between 7,659 MW and 9,461 MW.

Data collected from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) shows that the power consumption in the first three weeks of January shot up by 10.6 per cent. “Barring some technical glitches leading to power snags, the PSPCL has met the demand successfully. Even the agriculture sector is getting ample power to irrigate their wheat crop, while the industry is also getting normal supply without any power interruptions,” said a top PSPCL official.

The average daily power supply from state thermal plants in the three weeks of January this year is 247 lakh units and this remains between 206 to 307 lakh units daily.

“The state government needs to put some checks on free power, otherwise demand will continue to

rise further with more consumers opting for the

300-unit free scheme,” says All India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta.

Meanwhile, the government has paid Rs 16,221.37 crore as power subsidy to the PSPCL till January 15, 2024. From this amount

Rs 8,279.83 crore are meant for agriculture power

subsidy, Rs 5,907.74 for domestic consumer subsidy and Rs 2,033.80 crore for industry subsidy.

The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) in its tariff order for 2023-24 estimated a total subsidy of Rs 18,714.51 crore. This includes Rs 8,809 crore for agriculture power, Rs 5,886 crore for free 300 units to domestic consumers and Rs 1,427 crore for those consumers with load up to 7 KW at Rs 2.50 per unit.

Power subsidy has risen by more than three times during the last decade, putting additional burden on the state government. The power subsidy in 2013-14 was Rs 6,324 crore and was expected to touch Rs 20,000 crore in this fiscal. The increase has occurred mainly in the past three financial years after free and subsidised power supply to domestic consumers started. In 2021-22, the subsidy was Rs 10,679 crore, which rose to Rs 15,845 crore in 2022-23 and then Rs 18,714 crore in the current financial year.