Industry to get power at ₹5 per unit from Jan 1
JALANDHAR: Punjab irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjit Singh on Saturday said the industry will get subsidised power at ₹5 per unit from January 1. The state government will pay a subsidy to the tune of ₹1,350 crore per annum to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to facilitate industrial units in the state, he said.
Addressing the media at the Shahed-e-azam Bhagat Singh Museum here, he said the Congress government has fulfilled its promise by providing cheap power to the industry.
Earlier in October, the state cabinet approved the industrial power tariff of ₹5 per unit and promised that it would be implemented from November 1.
‘CAN’T CANCEL PPAS’
The minister also said it’s not possible for the Congress government to cancel power purchase agreements (PPAS) signed during the previous Akali-bjp regime as it would hit the credibility of the state among investors.
He said the Akali-bjp government signed these agreements in haste, without knowing how much electricity the state actually needed. The state requires 5,000 MW of power per day and the demand increases to 13,000 MW during the paddy season, he said. Responding to a question that state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar has also alleged of a scam in PPAS signed during the previous regime, the power minister said: “I have not found any irregularities in the agreements to date. It’s just that the previous government signed these without applying logic.”
Justifying the closure of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant at Bathinda, the minister said the units there have outlived their age and there was no use of spending crores on old technology. “We will install a new plant with advanced technology,” he said.