Patiala, Punjab is witnessing an unusually high power demand for electricity in September, with consumption remaining above 16,000 MW amid high temperatures and deficient rainfall, officials said on Saturday.
The shutdown of two units at private thermal power plants has further strained the state's power supply position, they added.
Opposition parties have been criticising the A government, alleging that the state has been witnessing shutdowns of power at many places in the state, affecting domestic, agricultural and industrial consumers.
However, Punjab minister Aman Arora blamed the Centre for not ensuring adequate coal supplies to thermal power plants in the state.
According to officials, the state's power demand during the current period of September is around 4,000 MW higher than the corresponding period last year, putting additional pressure on the power system.
To meet the increased demand, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited is procuring power from various sources, said the officials.
They said that 11,962 MW of power had been purchased from the central pool by Saturday afternoon.
The situation has been compounded by the shutdown of two generating units at private thermal power plants due to technical problems.
A 700-MW unit at the Nabha thermal power plant and a 660-MW unit at the Talwandi Sabo thermal power plant are currently out of operation, resulting in a combined generation loss of 1,360 MW.
PSPCL Director Punnerdeep Singh Brar said the 700-MW unit at the Nabha plant, which developed a technical fault, is expected to be restored by Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
The 660-MW unit at the Talwandi Sabo plant is also expected to be brought back into operation by Sunday night, he said.
On the coal position, Brar said adequate coal had reached the Nabha thermal plant, while coal was also being supplied to the Talwandi Sabo plant on a daily basis. He expressed confidence that both plants would be able to operate at full capacity once the affected units were restored.
Brar acknowledged that PSPCL was currently being forced to impose power restrictions in some areas because of the high demand and reduced availability from the affected thermal units. He said these restrictions would be withdrawn once the thermal units resumed generation.
The high demand comes despite the fact that coal stocks at the state-owned thermal power plants are comfortable. However, declining coal stocks at some private thermal plants have added to concerns over sustained generation.
The power situation has also resulted in restrictions in some industrial areas with certain industrial consumers facing power cuts of more than 10 hours.
Rural areas, however, have witnessed longer and more frequent power cuts, causing inconvenience to consumers, particularly at a time when temperatures remain high.
Officials said PSPCL was using all available resources, including power procurement from the central pool, to maintain supply and bridge the demand-supply gap.
The restoration of the two private thermal units is expected to provide 1,360 MW of additional generation capacity and ease pressure on the system.
Responding to a question on the power situation, Arora said there is a shortage of coal supplies in the entire country as he put the onus on the Centre, emphasising that importing coal is the responsibility of the government of India.
He said the state government has urged the Centre to ensure adequate coal supplies to Punjab.
He further said the Centre has been urged to allow two private thermal power plants at Talwani Sabo and Rajpura in the state to use coal supplies of Pachhwara coal mine which is otherwise meant for state-owned plants.
Neither Punjab got adequate coal supply nor permission for the use of coal by two power plants, he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.