Private plant to suspend power generation in Punjab

PATIALA: With farmers continuing their agitation on rail tracks near power plants in Punjab, cutting off their coal supply, one of the two operational plants announced suspension of its operations on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) officials confirmed that their plant would suspend power generation as their coal stock was exhausted.
TSPL suspended operations a few days ago but resumed power generation on the instructions of PSPCL after it received five coal rakes when farmers ended their rail-roko agitation.However, a day after farmers called off the rail roko agitation, one of the farmer unions blocked a rail track near the gate of Rajpura and Mansa power plants.
PSPCL officials claimed that coal crisis has hit the state despite decline in power demand after change of season. On Tuesday, officials said demand for power in the state stood at 5,300 MW. GVK Goindwal Sahib power plant officials claimed their power generation has been suspended since October 23 but they have three days worth of coal stock. NPL Rajpura officials said only one of the two units remained operational on Tuesday and that too at half capacity. NPL is also left with very little coal stock. By Tuesday evening, 710 MW was being withdrawn from private power plants.
PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) A Venu Prasad said, “Coal is the need of the hour for power plants. We have faced acute shortage. TSPL suspended operations while only a single unit of NPL Rajpura is operating. PSPCL is facing huge losses.”
BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan said, “We are protesting against the corporate sector under which only a separate rail track towards the private power plants in Rajpura and another in Mansa have been blocked.”