PSPCL files petition with regulatory body over solar energy supply from next year

Tribune News Service

Aman Sood

Patiala, December 19

In a major initiative to ensure power supply to farmers during day time, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in its annual revenue requirement (ARR) petition filed with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has mentioned that in the coming year the PSPCL will get enough solar and non-solar renewable energy (RE) supply. This means more power available at low cost during peak sun hours. Every paddy season the PSPCL gives eight hour power supply to farmers.

According to the ARR, the PSPCL will get additional 3,622 million units from various new solar projects. The solar plants coming within Punjab are of 354 MW, whereas those on contract outside Punjab are of 2,150 MW. The total solar power available in next financial year will be around 8,025 million units.

Energy rates for the upcoming solar projects for 2024-25 will be between Rs 2.65 and 2.75 per units for three solar plants coming up in the state. For solar plants outside Punjab, the PSPCL will purchase power between Rs 2.33 and Rs 2.55 per unit.

“The total intra-state solar power available is 884 MW with projected supply of 1,302 million units. The inter-state solar power available is 767 MW with projected supply of 2,300 million units. The long-term total supply is 4,403 million units,” says the ARR.

“The total non-solar power from various sources will be 3,397 million units, making a total of 11,422.33 million units of renewable power available. With addition of more solar and biogas-based power plants, the PSPCL will save crores and will also get ample power supply during the day hours, when the demand is usually very high,” said All India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta.

Confirming the developments, a senior PSPCL official, privy to the developments, told The Tribune that by making arrangements for purchase of clean and cheap renewable energy power for the coming year the overall cost of power purchase will come down.

Punjab has over 13.94 lakh tubewells, which are pumping out gallons of water to irrigate fields. A majority of these borewells are running on free power supplied by the PSPCL every paddy and wheat season.

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