According to SC Sabharwal, member (transmission) of PSEB, “Power from private generation companies now costs Rs 11-12 per unit, which we cannot afford.”
"Considering the board's fiscal situation, we cannot buy power at a rate over Rs 7 per unit,” Sabharwal added. The PSEB is already running into losses amounting to Rs. 6,600 crore.
Almost all the government offices in Punjab have received directions from the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for ban of ACs. Also, the industrial sector is facing 10-hour power-cuts as the demand for power is much more than the present supply of 500 lakh units a day in Punjab.
Although the state’s electricity board has expressed its commitment to spend an amount of Rs. 1,000 crore for purchasing power from June to September from some additional resources, however, it is being felt that this might not bring much improvement in the present demand-supply situation.
