With three power plants in various stages of construction, the Punjab government is hopeful it would be power surplus by adding 3,920 Mw in the next two years. The state government is of the view the commissioning of these power projects in 2013-14 will not only make it self-sufficient but would also put it in a position wherein it can sell surplus power to power deficit states across the country.
The installed power generation of the state was 7,035.35 Mw as on March 31, 2011, and the peak unrestricted demand is about 9,399 Mw which is likely to rise to 10,009 Mw in the next two years, a shortfall of 25 per cent of the peak demand. Moreover, the power shortage in the state is growing at the rate of 10 per cent. Further, with 1,102 units, the state has the highest per capita power consumption in the country. The national per capita power consumption hovers at around 825 units.
In order to meet the power shortage, the present Akali-BJP alliance government during its last tenure initiated work on three thermal power projects with a combined generation capacity of 3920 Mw. Work is going on in full-swing at the 1,980 Mw plant at Talwandi Sabo, 540 Mw at Goindwal Sahib and 1,400 Mw AT Rajpura. These plants are being developed by private companies, namely Sterlite, GVK and Larsen & Toubro respectively. All the units of these three power plants would become functional from May 2013 to May 2014. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had said, “1,860 Mw would be added in the first phase in 2013 and subsequently in the second phase 2,060 Mw would be further added in 2014.” He had stressed once these plants are commissioned, Punjab would be self sufficient on the power front, that there would be no power shortage and it might even sell power to other states.
Badal had further said efforts were afoot to tap hydro-power potential in the state, and, with the completion of Shahpur Kandi, having capacity of 206 Mega Watt in 2015, and, Mukerian Hydel Project with the capacity of 18 Mega Watt, the power scenario in state would further improve.
It is worth mentioning that the installed power generation of Punjab is 7,035.35 Mw as on March 31, 2011, out of which 3,620.35 Mw is from its own power houses, 1,258 Mw from common pool projects i.e under Bhakra Beas Management Board, 184 Mw from Micro Hydel/Bio Mass and 1,973 Mw is Punjab’s share from central sector power projects.
The demand for power in the state is rising sharply on account of rapidly increasing use of electrical energy for agricultural operations, rapid industrialisation, high living standard of residents and intensive rural electrification programme.
