Power consumption in Punjab up by 12%: Did intense cold wave of AAP’s freebies cause this

The AAP has been accused of doling freebies before elections. The AAP has however defended its actions saying they are necessary for the welfare of the poor

New Delhi, Feb 07: Punjab's power minister Harbhajan Singh said in a statement that when compared to January 2022, the monthly power consumption has gone up by 12 per cent. The minister also said that Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) met the demand successfully by optimised utilisation of resources.

According to reports, 54,387 million units were consumed in January 2022 which rose to 60,762 million units this year.

Officials attribute this rise to two reasons. First there was an intense cold wave and second the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is providing 300 units of free electricity in the billing cycle.

The demand was met by the PSPCL by sources electricity from outside the state. The capacity was of the states, thermal and hydropower generation capacity was also increased. The thermal power generation from PSPCL-pwned power plants in Lehra and Ropar was also increased by 128 per cent. These two units produced 2,736 million units in January 2022. In January 2023 the power generation was recorded at 6,229 million units.

Similarly the power generation in hydro projects owned by the PSPCL and BBMB also increased by 21 and 13 per cent respectively. The power generation in the PSPCL-owned went up for 2,946 units to 3,567 million units. In BBMB, it increased from 3,067 million units to 3,454 million units.

There has also been a massive increase on banking on other states for power. According to reports, when compared to 1,917 million units in January 2022, 3,847 million units of power were consumed from other states.

However reports say that the real test would begin during the summers. Since the AAP announced that 300 units of electricity would be free per month, the consumption has increased drastically when compared to the previous years. In September alone last year, the power demand rose by 22 per cent.

The other issue that Punjab has been facing is unscheduled power cuts and this is due to the heavy demand. Historically in Punjab, power consumption in the state is lowest in January. However this year, Punjab witnessed 27 per cent jump in the consumption of power.

The engineers had recently warned the state government that Punjab may face power shortages or blackouts during the upcoming paddy season if immediately corrective actions are not taken. In a letter to the Chief Minister, the PSEB Engineers's Association said that 'costly indecisions,' including mounting subsidy bull, widening expenditure gap and no substantial increase in power generation will cause problems in the coming months.

Doling out freebies:

The AAP has been accused of offering freebies in almost all elections that he has fought. In Punjab too, its offer of free power worked and the party won by a huge margin. The AAP has been accused by other political parties of using freebies as a political tool to gain support.

The party on the other hand defends its actions stating that they are necessary for the welfare of the poor.