Surplus power charges PSPCL coffers
PATIALA: With the power situation improving in Punjab due to full availability of private plants and an increase in overall demand in other regions, the state is now selling surplus to others.
In last 10 days, the state has earned ₹20 crores by selling power surplus.
September is a high power demand period for Punjab due to paddy season. To meet this demand, power plants in the state were always stretched to their full capacity.
Due to full availability of private plants, hardly any PSPCL thermal plant is in continuous operation this year.
As a result, huge power surplus — 1,500-2,000 MW — is continuously available at the disposal of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
In this scenario, Punjab has been successfully selling the surplus to other states at a higher rate.
The power market has reacted positively to the deficit scenario from the point of view of sellers.
The demand is much more than the availability and due to this higher demand in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, peak rates have increased to ₹9 per unit with average rate during the day at ₹4.6 per unit.
A few days back, the average price was ₹2.5 per unit.
“Production of one unit of electricity in Punjab usually costs ₹3.10 to ₹3.20. “
“As the prevailing rate in the grid is soaring to average ₹3.70 per unit, we decided to sell electricity instead of shutting down thermal units due to less demand,” said NK Sharma, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited director (distribution).
“Till the rates remain on a higher side, we will continue to sell power and once it’s down, we will save money by shutting down our generation units,” he added.
During the first nine days of September, Punjab sold 55 million units of power at an average rate of ₹3.8 per unit, making ₹20 crores in the process.
The higher prices have come as a boon for the cash-starved PSPCL.
It is now earning around 50 paise per unit and the scenario is likely to continue for few more weeks till end of the harvesting season.
Usually, in winters, Punjab does banking or sale of electricity with hilly states or southern states. This year, however, the PSPCL managed to sell power in summers.