Faulty power pacts of Badals root cause of electricity shortage, should be scrapped: Harpal  Cheema

…Farmers bearing brunt of electricity shortage, not getting 8-hour uninterrupted power supply for paddy season

…Due to their collusion, Captain never took action regarding wrong agreements reached during the Badal government

Chandigarh, June 30

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh Cheema said that despite higher electricity fares in state; the faulty Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) were the root cause of the power crisis, due to which the people of Punjab were suffering. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Wednesday, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the farmers of the state were bearing the brunt of electricity shortage as they had to use diesel engines to run the tubewells in paddy season. He said that the faulty power pacts architected during the previous Badal government must be scrapped as they were financially draining Punjab.

Cheema said that the farmers were being harassed by the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, who had failed to provide uninterrupted 8-hours power supply for paddy season which has started from June 10 and the peak power requirement of which remains consistent for over 50 to 65 days. He said that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had so far paid Rs 20,000 crores as fixed charges to three private thermals installed during the SAD-BJP government and of this amount, almost Rs 5,700 crore had been paid without getting any supply, which raises questions on the Captain government. “The amount paid to private thermal plants without getting any supply is a result of lopsided PPAs premeditated without guarding the interests of the state,” he added.

The AAP leader further said that the PSPCL was paying extra money for purchasing power while also still paying full fixed charges to some units which were not functional for several months. He said that there was no provision of any penalty in the PPAs, even if the private players do not supply power throughout the peak summer and paddy season, which clearly exposes the intention and personal ‘pacts’ between these private firms and the government. Cheema said that the wrong policies of Captain Amarinder Singh and the Badals had affected the people and they had worked in collusion to abolish the government and cooperative system in Punjab.

Taking a dig at Captain Amarinder Singh, Cheema said that Captain, who formed the government by promising to issue white paper on power purchase agreements entered into with private power plants by the Badals, had so far failed to do so. “Due to their collusion, Captain Amarinder Singh never took any action regarding wrong power agreements reached during the Badal government,” he asserted. Cheema said that today the government thermal plants were performing better than the private plants and it was amply clear that that government plants were being demolished only to benefit the private plants. He demanded the Captain government that the faulty power agreements must be scrapped and cases be filed against those found guilty.