With construction of three thermal power plants underway with an investment of Rs 52,000 crore, Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, is confident that the state will become power surplus by 2013 .
While laying the foundation stone of 66 kv sub stations in village Bamana and Randhawa in Patiala on Friday the chief minister said, ?The state government has constituted a high-power generation projects committee to monitor the implementation of new power projects.?
?Twenty villages will draw the benefit with the commissioning of 66 kv sub station,? he added. The CM also said commissioning of this sub station will give relief to 66 kv sub stations Samana, Kularan and Gajewas. The cost of sub station and allied works is estimated at Rs 4.11 crore. Similarly, with the commissioning of 66 kv sub station, Randhawa the voltage supply of 20 villages will be improved. The cost of this sub station and allied works is about Rs 3.24 crore.
CMD of Powercom, KD Chaudhary, told reporters power purchase agreement of Rs 1,800 crore have been signed and in case of a good monsoon , the cost may come down to Rs 1,200 crore. Besides this an additional 600 mw power has organised for the power consumers. He also said in the next paddy season, Powercom will guarantee eight hour uninterrupted quality power to agriculture sector.
Powercom has signed power buying agreements to get 230 lakh units a day of which 100 lakh units come from the Power Trading Corporation of India . Anurag Agarwal, CMD Transco, said during the year 2009-10, 40 sub stations has been constructed and that capacity of 90 sub stations has been upgraded.