Punjab buys power at Rs six per unit

Chandigarh, Aug 5 (UNI) Facing a power shortage of 2,600 MW in the state, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is purchasing power at the rate of Rs six a unit from various sources, for bridging this gap.

This was informed by Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, while chairing a high level meeting here today to review the power scenario in the state.

Mrs Bhattal, who also holds the power portfolio, said total power generation available to the state was 6000 MW while the consumption was 8600 MW. To meet the shortage, electricity was being purchased from various sources and the government had also decided to set up two new thermal plants in the state.

To provide better power supply facility and to avoid inconvenience to consumers, the ongoing works of computerisation of the PSEB would be completed by September this year, she added.

She stressed upon the need to monitor generation, transmission and distribution of power to provide unintrupted power to farmers, industrialists and domestic consumers. At present, the electricity board was providing services to 80 lakh consumers.

PSEB Chairman Y S Ratra assured at the meeting that the board would work upto the expectations of its consumers.

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