2 units shut after ‘ surplus power’
STRANGE PSPCL move baffling as cuts continue
BATHINDA: As power cuts are on in the state, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on Saturday shut down two power units at Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Powe r Plant (GNDTPP) here, claiming they had surplus power.
Unit No 2 at the PSPCL was shut down around 9.15am and Unit No 3 around 2.15pm. It is rare that power units are shut down in the last week of April due to a dip in demand.
Also, Guru Hargo bind Thermal Power Plant at Lehra Mohabbat and Guru Gobind Singh Thermal Power Plant at Rupnagar have been put at the back down. The Lehra Mohabbat plant is at 260 MW b ac k d ow n wh e re a s the Rupnagar plant is at 210 MW back down.
Shutting off a unit not only affects the revenue of the PSPCL but also increases the infrastructural cost. Around Rs 15 lakh- 20 lakh is the cost to restart a unit.
PSPCL member generation GS Chhabra said, “We have surplus power at the moment and that is the reason for shutting down the plant. The temperatures have gone down considerably owing to the cloudy weather. There is nothing strange in this. We will restart the unit as the demand increases.”
Whereas PSPCL west zone (distribution) chief engineer GS Dhaliwal said, “We are imposing scheduled power cuts according to the message conveyed by the Patiala office.”
Interestingly, power cuts were reportedly imposed in Bathinda and surrounding areas on the day the PSPCL shut down the units, citing surplus power. When told about the claims made by Chhabra, Dhaliwal evaded a reply.
GNDTPP Employees Federation president Gursewak Singh Sandhu said, “We are surprised over the move of the PSPCL to shut down the units. On the one hand, they have been imposing power cuts, and on the other, they have shut down the units citing surplus power. There must be an investigation to find out the reason behind the strange decision.”
Sandhu said, “Shutting down units repeatedly not only causes infrastructural loss but also pushes up the generation cost. Nobody is going to buy the PSPCL’s claim that a dip in demand is the reason behind the shutdown of units in April- end.”