Congress today accused SAD-BJP government of making "tall claims" about surplus power in Punjab, saying the power projects inaugurated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal have not generated even a single unit.
"Commercial production of power has not started yet at all in the three power projects, including Goindwal Thermal Power Project, Talwandi Sabo Power Project and Rajpura Thermal Power project," state Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa said in a statement issued here.
People should now brace for heavy load-shedding in summer as power crises looms large over the state, he warned.
"The motive behind the inauguration of the power projects was just to woo the voters of Punjab," Bajwa alleged, adding that voters were aware that it was a "castle in the air".
Quoting information got through RTI by party activist Jasdeepak Singh, Bajwa said, Talwandi Sabo project was yet to run on coal for final synchronisation, while the Rajpura plant's 700-MW unit had hit a technical snag before the final synchronisation.
The Talwandi Sabo project is yet to receive coal for commercial operations. It is still not fully tested on the oil run, he alleged.
Chiding the SAD-BJP alliance, Bajwa said the Chief Minister had inaugurated the first unit of 1980 MW Talwandi Sabo Power Plant at Banwala (Mansa) village on November 25 last year claiming that the Punjab would be a power-surplus state with this project.
Goindwal Sahib Power project of 540 MW was to be operational from March last year but has not produced a single unit of commercial power till date.
The first unit of the 700 MW Rajpura Thermal Power Plant at Nalash village in Patiala was inaugurated on December 8 last year. But as per the RTI reply which quoted the Deputy CE Projects, Thermal Designs, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Patiala), commercial production had not started at both the units.
