Punjab power point: no ACs,offices to close by 1.30 pm

To Tide over an impending power crisis,the Punjab Government has taken a slew of measures coupled...

To Tide over an impending power crisis,the Punjab Government has taken a slew of measures coupled with an appeal to people of the state to use air-conditioners sparingly,shun the use of decorative lights and make use of CFLs wherever possible.

As recommended by the Punjab State Electricity Board PSEB,the state Cabinet on Saturday banned the use of air-conditioners in offices,changed the office timings across the state from 7.30 a.m to 1.30 p.m. and directed all commercial establishments,including shops and malls,to close by 7.30 p.m. The new office timings will come into force from June 29.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has told the PSEB to review the power situation after a week ,on July 4. He also solicited support and cooperation from the people for implementation of these harsh measures in true spirit and regretted the inconvenience caused.

He has appealed to the people to bear with the tough measures in the wake of the power crisis due to a delayed monsoon coupled with a high demand for power,especially in the farm sector due to transplantation of paddy in the current month.

Badal said the issue of power crisis was not confined to Punjab but had become a national crisis. He said it was a duty to save electricity to safeguard the economic interests of all sections of society.

Meanwhile,Principal Secretary Irrigation and Power Suresh Kumar on Saturday made a presentation in the meeting of the Council of Ministers to apprise it of the current power and water scenario in the state. He said the demand for power had witnessed a steep increase of 8,170 MW as compared to 6,083 MW during the corresponding period last year.

The PSEB has been able to arrange 6,325 MW as against 5,750 MW during the corresponding period last year. This was despite the fact that the power availability from other states had gone down substantially because of drought-like conditions in the country. The states which had committed power as part of bilateral banking arrangement were not able to give power to Punjab because of rise in local demand in those states.

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The Chief Minister directed the PSEB and the state power department to ensure adequate power availability without compromising on food security. He emphasised that failure of paddy crops would adversely affect all sections of society.