Punjab CM: Cancel or revisit lopsided power pacts
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has ordered Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to cancel or revisit all one-sided power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private companies that are not contractually obligated to supply sufficient power to meet the state’s peak demand during the paddy sowing and summer season.
Rs886 crore spent to overcome deficit
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh pointed out that to meet the power deficit resulting from the failure of the Talwandi Sabo plant, PSPCL had to purchase 271 crore units worth Rs886 crore in June and July
He said the state was also compelled to enforce power regulatory measures from July 1 to 11 for the sowing season, resulting in inconvenience to consumers and additional financial burden on PSPCL
Taking a serious note of the fiasco relating to Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), Mansa – one of the largest private thermal plants in the state, which failed to perform in the current paddy season, the Chief Minister has directed PSPCL to revoke its PPA, which is heavily biased in favour of the company.
He has also asked PSPCL to examine all PPAs signed by the erstwhile SAD-BJPP government with the various Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which were established basically to meet the power demands of the state, especially during the paddy sowing and summer season. He has directed PSPCL to terminate/revisit all lopsided PPAs that are not beneficial to the state.
The Chief Minister noted that PSPCL had signed 14 PPAs with thermal or hydro and 122 long-term PPAs with solar/biomass plants after 2007 to make the state power surplus with the generation capacity of around 13,800 MW. However, in this current paddy season, all three units of TSPL failed to generate power for few days during the peak paddy season. One unit of TSPL failed completely to operate from March 2021, and two units remained out of power generation for the last one month, he said. At present, only one unit of TSPL is operational, he said, adding that these factors have caused huge power shortage in the state.
Punjab CM: Cancel or revisit lopsided power pacts
PSPCL has already issued notice to TSPL by imposing penalty. However, as the PPAs are one-sided, the penalty imposed will be very meagre in comparison to the losses caused by the failure of these thermal plants. Further, as per the provisions of the PPAs, at present, it is not compulsory for the IPPs to supply power during the peak summer/paddy period. Hence, taking advantage of the loopholes in PPAs, the IPPs are claiming full fixed charges from PSPCL by supplying power in the off-season when the state requires it the least.
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