20 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : The continuous spell of the searing heatwave coupled with paddy transplantation pushed Punjab’s peak power demand beyond its maximum supply capacity of 16,000 megawatts (MW) on Wednesday afternoon. This is the first time the state recorded 16,078 MW of power demand, crossing the capacity (16,000 MW) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
According to the PSPCL, the state’s own generation, when the power demand touched an all-time high, was merely around 5,700 MW and the rest was drawn from the northern grid. It has been learned that the PSPCL had to purchase more electricity through power exchanges over the past two days apparently to maintain the continuous power supply.
The PSPCL is said to have purchased 62.2 million units (MU) on Monday and 58.8 MU on Tuesday. “Due to high demand, the PSPCL is shelling out more money on purchasing electricity through exchange obviously to maintain continuous supply,” said an official, who didn’t wish to be named.
Meanwhile, the increasing power demand has forced the PSPCL to run its all four units of the Ranjit Sagar Dam project throughout the day for the past two days to bridge the gap between demand and supply. Normally, these units of the Ranjit Sagar Dam hydel power generation plant are put to use only during morning and evening when solar power generation stops.
As of now, the reservoir’s water level at Ranjit Sagar Dam is 504.67 meters against last year’s level of 511.97 meters, over 7 meters less than last year’s level on the corresponding day.
It is pertinent to mention here the state government has already sent a letter to the Centre, urging it to allocate 1,000 MW power more from the central pool. The Centre, however, has yet to respond to the request.
Meanwhile, one of the three units of the Talwandi Sabo thermal power plant tripped on Tuesday night as some fault arose in its boiler section. That unit produces nearly 660 MW of power. “Hopefully, it will be functional soon as the fault is being fixed,” said a senior official of the PSPCL.
In the wake of unprecedented power demand, the PSPCL had to impose unscheduled power cuts in several cities on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, PSEB Engineers’ Association president Jasvir Dhiman said the full paddy load is yet to commence. “In the first 15 days of June, the conditions are no better. Overall there is a 42% increase in energy consumption and 33% increase in maximum demand,” Dhiman said in a statement, adding that the situation requires some restraint from the consumers in their electricity usage.
He urged people to limit their air conditioners at 26 degrees for the next 12 days and appealed to farmers to delay paddy sowing by seven days to conserve water and electricity.