Punjab floods lead to dip in power demand during paddy season despite early sowing

Floods in parts of Punjab resulted in a dip in paddy season power demand this year despite the early sowing of the crop.

For the first time, power consumption during the paddy season has decreased, even though staggered transplantation began earlier — from June 1 instead of the usual June 10 in previous years.

Contrary to the trend of rising demand each year, incessant rains and floods led to a notable fall in power usage this season.

Data from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) shows that agricultural power demand dipped by 7 per cent in four months — from June to September — compared to the same period last year. This year, the agriculture power supply stood at around 9,100 million units (MUs), down from 9,830 MUs last year.

According to PSPCL’s comparative data for June to September, power demand was 8,201 MUs in 2021-22, 8,956 MUs in 2022-23, 9,830 MUs in 2023-24, and 9,087 MUs in 2024-25.

“This clearly shows the trend that the power demand goes up every next season, given more area under paddy and more tubewells pumping out underground water to irrigate paddy fields,” said a senior PSPCL official.

In 2025, compiled data suggests that Punjab’s farming sector consumed 2,192 MUs in June and 2,754 MUs in July.

“However, the demand dropped to only 1,738 MUs in August and further dipped to 1,531 MUs in September, showing the impact of floods on Punjab’s paddy,” said All India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson V K Gupta.

“While the farming sector saw losses, the floods meant less power subsidy utilised and less stress on the underground water table,” he added.

Started in 1997 for farmers owning up to seven acres of land, the subsidy cost Punjab Rs 604.57 crore in 1997-98. It crossed Rs 1,000 crore for the first time in 2005-06, reaching Rs 1,435 crore, and further rose to Rs 2,848 crore in 2007-08, of which Rs 2,284 crore was spent on free electricity for the farm sector.

At present, Punjab’s total power subsidy is expected to touch Rs 20,500 crore. Of this, nearly Rs 10,000 crore is for the farming sector, Rs 2,893 crore for the industry, and Rs 7,614 crore for the domestic sector.

Punjab farmers receive free power every season to operate their tubewells for irrigating paddy and wheat crops, both of which require significant water, particularly in their initial growth stages.