The Hindu : New Delhi News : Punjab seeks increase in power quota

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 27, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Punjab seeks increase in power quota

By Our Staff Correspondent

The Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, with the Union Power Minister, P.M. Sayeed, in New Delhi on Monday. In the middle is Punjab's Irrigation and Power Minister Lal Singh.

CHANDIGARH, JULY 26. The Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, has urged the Union Power Minister, P.M. Sayeed, to allow the State an increased share from the unallocated power in the Central Sector Projects. He also sought that the State's quota be enhanced from 22 to 30 percent, to tide over the prevailing crisis caused due to the failure of the Monsoons.

According to an official release here, Capt. Amarinder Singh in his meeting with Mr. Sayeed, in Delhi today, requested for 150 MW power from Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS), which had temporarily been diverted to Madhya Pradesh as well as the seven percent share of Jammu & Kashmir in the Naptha Jakhri Power Corporation, which had been diverted to Rajasthan.

Capt. Singh requested Mr. Sayeed to take necessary steps to simplify the procedure of exchange of power from surplus States to deficit States, dispensing with the three days' prior notice for allotment of a transmission corridor. He suggested the doing away with the process of bidding during the present power crisis.

The Chief Minister stressed the need for running of transmission lines, between the different regions, to help deficit States receive power supplies from surplus utilities. He pointed out that presently the 500 MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) link line of Vindyachal inter-connecting the North and Western regions was being utilised to the extent of only 150 MW against its capacity of 500 MW.

To cope up with the power crisis, Capt. Singh underlined the need to defer the planned shut downs for maintenance at least till October 15 on inter-State transmission lines as well as generating stations.

Capt. Singh pointed out that while Punjab was overdrawing power to ensure eight hours' power supply to the farm sector, some States were underdrawing and selling power at exorbitant rates under unscheduled interchanges. He also revealed that in the present power crisis, Punjab purchased at very high rates up to Rs. 6 per unit.

The release claimed that Mr. Sayeed assured the Chief Minister about initiating appropriate remedial steps to deal with the situation by diverting more power to Punjab and save the paddy crop.

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