Severe Power Crisis Hits Punjab Industry and Agriculture

A deepening power crisis in Punjab has led to scheduled and unscheduled electricity outages lasting up to 14 hours for certain industrial consumers. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has implemented significant shutdowns for Category 2 and 3 industrial feeders, with some areas in Ludhiana experiencing cuts from 4.30 pm to 6 am. These outages have extended to domestic consumers and residents of villages that share feeders with industrial zones. The crisis has specifically paralyzed rice mills, leaving them unable to process Basmati paddy and causing stocks to pile up in market yards across districts such as Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, and Gurdaspur.

Technical factors contributing to the shortage include a sharp rise in peak power demand, which reached 16,519 MW on Saturday compared to 12,489 MW during the same period last year. Additionally, two private thermal power plants at Nabha Power and Talwandi Sabo are currently non operational. Punjab Power Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond stated that the state is receiving 1,051 MW less power than its share from the Central Power pool. However, industry representatives have questioned the state government's planning regarding coal availability.

Political reactions to the crisis vary based on ideological framing. A center left perspective emphasizes the political failure of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, highlighting the contrast between the current outages and the promised 24 hour uninterrupted power supply of the Roshan Punjab campaign. Opposition leaders from the Congress and BJP have attributed the crisis to government mismanagement and financial mishandling. Conversely, a center perspective focuses more on the operational impact on the industrial sector, detailing the specific hours of power loss and the resulting economic distress for laborers and business owners.