At loggerheads with Punjab Chief Minister Captain (retd.) Amarinder Singh, his former Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday yet again fired shots at the Chief Minister about the ongoing ‘power crises’ in the State.
In a series of tweets titled, “Truth of power costs, cuts, power purchase agreements and how to give free and 24-hour power to the people of Punjab”, Mr. Sidhu said there was no need of imposing power cuts in the State, if there’s action in the right direction.
Pointing out that Punjab is buying power at average cost of ₹4.54 per unit while the national average is ₹3.85 per unit, Mr. Sidhu said that Punjab’s over-dependence on three Private Thermal Plants at ₹5 to ₹8 per unit makes Punjab pay more than other states.
“There’s no need for power-cuts in Punjab or for the Chief Minister to regulate office timings or AC (Air Conditioners) use of the common people... If we Act in the right direction,” he said in a tweet.
Mr. Sidhu said that Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) were signed during the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government with three Private Thermal Power plants in Punjab. Till 2020, Punjab has already paid ₹5,400 crore due to faulty clauses in these agreements and is expected to pay another ₹65,000 crore of the people’s money just as fixed charges, he added.
Advising that the Punjab Vidhan Sabha can bring in new legislation with retrospective effect to cap power purchase costs to prices available on the National Power Exchange at any given time, and thus, by amending the law, these agreements will become null and void, saving the people of Punjab’s money, he said.
He also added that Punjab’s revenue per unit of consumption is one of the lowest in India, due to gross mismanagement of the complete power purchase and supply system. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) pays ₹0.18 per unit “extra” on every unit supplied, even after receiving over ₹9,000 crore in subsidy from the State, he pointed out.
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