Punjab’s maximum power demand breaches 14,000 MW mark; no shortage, says PSPCL

On Monday, the peak power demand hit the 14070 MW, PSPCL officials said. The power demand in the state has been rising for the last four days and has hovered around the 13,000 MW mark during the daytime. PSPCL had supplied a record 3,102 lakh units on Sunday when the maximum demand was 13,267 MW. On Sunday, when the maximum power demand was met, the state’s scheduled withdrawal was 8,304 MW and the actual supply from the northern grid was 8,537 MW, essentially meaning that Punjab was overdrawing 233 MW of electricity.

The power supply from sources within the state was 5,528 MW. State thermal units were supplying 1339 MW while Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were supplying 2791 MW. Sources in the PSPCL said that the Northern Regional Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC) has cautioned PSPCL that it has been overdrawing electricity while keeping generation capacities low at the Ropar and Lehra Mohabatt thermal plants of the state.

“Last year, the power demand in Punjab touched 14,142 MW on June 30, of which the state supplied a maximum of 12,842 MW leaving a gap of about 1,330 MW between demand and supply,” said VK Gupta, spokesperson of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF). He added that last year the maximum demand in the state touched 15,500 MW, of which PSPCL was only able to supply around 13,000 MW.