2025 brings challenges for Punjab Power sector
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ January 1,2025
The New Year 2025 brings hope and anxiety for the power sector in Punjab.
The power corporation has to face lots challenges, named a few like power shortage, RDSS project, uncertainty of top management, bleak financial position , no addition of solar power generation, low water level in dams amongst others in the year 2025.
The state government has already announced to change the top management of the power sector. The government is going to appoint new CMD, Director (Distribution, Finance, Commercial, HR) of the Punjab state power corporation limited (PSPCL) and Director (Technical), Punjab state transmission corporation limited (PSTCL) to end ad-hocism in the state power sector. With the all new team before the beginning of the summer, paddy season, powercom the new team may face challenges in planning, executing the generation, distribution plans.
The next challenge is the dwindling financial position of the powercom. Though the PSPCL had managed to incur profit by selling power, purchasing power at lesser rates, supply of coal from own mine but all the efforts seems to go in drain as the powercom failed to recover pending power bills from government departments, unchecked power theft, power losses, lesser power subsidy reimbursement.
This year another big challenge for power sector before the onset of summer, paddy season is increase in power demand. As per official records in 2024 the demand had crossed 16300 units in a single day. Whereas as per the sources the actual demand had crossed 17000 units but the powecom imposed undeclared power cuts to manage the situation. The power demand is going further to increase this year. The powercom has to depend on power purchase to meet the power demand as the state has not added new generation unit. As per estimate the power demand is likely to increase by around 4,000 MW in the coming years at an estimated rate of 7 per cent every year. There is no update of 250 MW solar plants planned at Bathinda. The powercom is also getting no response from the people to establish small solar plants in their land.
Another challenge before the powercom is the non finalisation of the tender for distribution of power under central government prestigious Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) project. Till date the project is hanging in fire. Rs 5500-6000 crore RDSS project is a five-year plan by the Government of India to improve the quality, reliability, and affordability of power supply is going to close in 2026.
The other challenge before the powercom management is the sorting out the disparity in the pay structures of the power engineers. Due to lesser pay scales the GATE passed engineers are showing lesser interests in joining PSPCL/PSTCL. The powercom is also facing the shortage of technical staff. Disbursement of pending DA and other benefits are also a challenge for the powercom.
2025 brings challenges for Punjab Power sector. Setting aside the rumors, a source of PSPCL informed that a positive opportunity seems for PSPCL is the setting up of two 800 MW supercritical plant at GGSSTP, Ropar by the end of this year. The state, powercom is working hard for this project.
