Cuts Withdrawn for Industry and Agriculture; State Still Draws Over 70% Power from Central Grid as Demand Remains Around 15,762 MW
 
Chandigarh
 
Punjab’s immediate power crisis eased on Sunday with all units at the Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo private thermal plants returning to operation, restoring around 3,300 MW of generation and prompting PSPCL to withdraw the power cuts imposed on the industrial and agricultural sectors. The relief comes after industrial hubs such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Mandi Gobindgarh faced cuts of up to 10-11 hours, even as state power demand remained high. However, the Centre’s Coal Ministry has disputed inadequate coal supply as the cause of the crisis, saying coal availability at Punjab’s power plants was around 114 percent of the normative requirement as of September 11.
 
The turnaround followed the restart of one shut unit at Rajpura and two at Talwandi Sabo, whose outages had triggered evening unplanned cuts. The disruption had also affected urban and rural consumers, with urban areas facing three to four hours of cuts and rural areas around an hour. Farmers had complained of inadequate supply for running tubewells.
 
Demand Stays High, Punjab Relies Heavily on Grid
PSPCL’s latest real-time figures put Punjab’s maximum load demand at 15,762 MW, with daily demand during September remaining consistently above 15,500 MW. The state’s own generation is currently around 4,626 MW, forcing it to draw about 11,138 MW from the central grid — more than 70 percent of its total requirement.
 
Of Punjab’s own generation, private thermal plants account for 2,119 MW, including 1,129 MW from Talwandi Sabo and 990 MW from Rajpura. State-owned thermal stations are generating another 1,774 MW —799 MW from Lehra Mohabbat, 516 MW from Goindwal Sahib and 459 MW from Ropar.
 
The latest demand figures underline the pressure on the system. Demand touched 16,162 MW on September 1, 16,539 MW on September 2, 16,455 MW on September 3, 16,182 MW on September 4, and 16,254 MW on September 5 — remaining above 16000-mark for five consecutive days. After recording 15,995 MW on September 6, the demand again rose to 16,219 MW on September 7, further to 16,505 MW on September 8, 16,518 MW on September 9, 16,432 MW on September 10, and maximum 16,619 MW on September 11, followed by 15,519 MW on September 12 and 15,762 MW on September 13 (Sunday).
 
Minister Blames Shortfall in Central Allocation
Power Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said Punjab was receiving around 1,051 MW less than its allocated share from the central power pool. He said the State Government had taken up the matter in writing with the Union Power Minister and that getting the full allocation could significantly ease the situation.
 
Sond stressed that uninterrupted supply was particularly important for Punjab because of its agriculture-dependent economy.
 
Coal Ministry: Supply Was Adequate
The Coal Ministry, however, offered a different explanation for the reduced generation. It said coal supply to Punjab’s independent power plants remained adequate and attributed lower generation to factors including low utilisation of PSPCL’s own plants, reported breakdowns at private plants, and the delayed lifting of coal already offered by Coal India Limited.
 
According to the Ministry, Nabha Power’s consumption averaged about 4.3 rakes a day over the three days preceding its assessment, against average supplies of around five rakes. Talwandi Sabo consumed about 3.8 rakes a day while receiving around five. In September so far, supplies averaged 4.9 rakes daily for Nabha and 4.1 for Talwandi Sabo.
 
The Ministry also said coal from PSPCL’s captive Pachhwara Central Coal Mine could be supplied to private plants, including Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo, subject to statutory conditions, with such plants permitted to use up to 50 percent of annual mine production after meeting specified end-use requirements.
 
As of September 11, coal stocks at PSPCL plants were around 114 percent of the normative requirement. Pachhwara mine production between April and September 11 had reached 83.67 percent of its annual target, while despatch stood at 68.44 percent.
 
As per information available, the plant-wise coal stocks currently stand at 12 days at Lehra Mohabbat, 17 days at Goindwal, 62 days at Ropar, five days at Rajpura and nine days at Talwandi Sabo.
 
The Ministry maintained that better utilisation of PSPCL plants, faster resolution of private-plant breakdowns, and timely lifting of CIL coal could further strengthen generation and help meet Punjab’s power demand.