Will re-operationalise Jharkhand coal mine: New PSPCL chairman

Patiala, December 26

Soon after assuming charge as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) recently, Baldev Singh Sran said he would work hard to provide cheaper and uninterrupted power to the people of the state.

On the coal crisis, he said: “We have our own coal mine at the Pachhwara block in Jharkhand and we can get cheaper and better quality coal from there to generate power. By operationalising this coal mine, which has not been operating for long now, Punjab can save around Rs 600-700 crore annually. Consequently, the cost of power will be reduced and consumers will benefit.”

In September, the Supreme Court had paved the way for re-operationalising the Pachhwara coal mine, which can help save at least Rs 20-30 per unit.

Sran said bringing in cheaper coal from Pachhwara was one of his top priorities. In the face of the upcoming paddy season and the inability of Coal India Limited to meet the demand, the re-operationalisation of the Pachhwara coal mine would be a boon to the state, said experts.

the cancellation of the power purchase agreements with three IPPs, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who was present when Sran assumed charge at the PSPCL, said the government had already made up its mind to take over one of the thermal plants and passed a Bill to renegotiate power tariffs with other two private thermal and several solar IPPs. He said Punjab would once again be made a power-surplus state. — TNS