Considering power crisis in Punjab, finance minister, Manpreet Badal has earmarked Rs 2,593 crore for the power sector. Out of Rs 2953 crore , Rs 1,925 crore will be spent on strengthening of distribution and transmission system where losses have been reduced to 22.5%.
However, according to Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Engineers Association, funds will fall short as the Board had estimated the capital outlay for Rs 5,016.42 crore to improve the performance of power system.
Talking to FE, Padamjit Singh, patron of PSEB Engineers Association said, ?PSEB had filed a petition for aggregate revenue requirement and determination of tariff for the current financial year with Punjab state electricity regulatory commission (PSERC).
Besides, the state has tied up with the central government for its share of 2,303 mw from central sector Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs). Power purchase agreements (PPAs) of 1,441 mw have been signed with private parties from projects targeted for commissioning the remaining part of the 11th Plan.
Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and PSEB have also signed PPAs with private developers for getting power from solar, mini hydel and bio-mass projects. PSEB is expected to get 221 mw from these projects.
No funds have been allocated to strengthen the upcoming power plants, which is need of the hour, Singh said. ?All the proposed power plants will take at least five years to start the production and the power deficit will keeping on growing further. Moreover, there is no progress in Talwandi Sabo project as nothing has been done in the last eight months. Apart from this, Rajpura power plant faced litigation and now the state government is going for re-bidding?, he added.