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Punjab government will soon buy a private thermal power plant to augment power production, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Saturday said. He said the details will be shared soon.
“Sharing good news with Punjabis…Punjab government is buying a private thermal plant in Punjab…details soon,” Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi.
Though the chief minister did not share information about the thermal plant, the state-owned power utility Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was one of the 12 bidders for taking over the 540 MW Goindwal thermal power plant in Tarn Taran after corporate insolvency proceedings were initiated against its owner GVK Power.
Mann had last month said that his government would bid for a private power plant and had added that the state has enough coal stock to run it.
A three-member sub-committee comprising Power Minister Harbhajan Singh, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian was formed to decide on the financial bid.
On Saturday, Mann said that his government has placed its bid for purchasing the private power plant and very soon this process will be completed. He said that at present state owned thermal plants at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar produce 1760 Mega Watt (MW) of power and, once the private thermal plant is procured, it will augment the production by another 540 MW.
The CM said that with the resumption of supply from Pachwara mine, the state has surplus coal which can be used to run these thermal plants effectively. He said that for the first time in the history of Punjab, the state government has put a bid for purchasing a private thermal power plant whereas the earlier governments had sold these properties.
Mann said that the state government is supplying uninterrupted and regular power to all the sectors even during the peak paddy season. He said that the state government has already made elaborate arrangements in this regard and there is no shortage of power in the state.
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