Punjab State Power Corp Turns Rs. 1,880 Crore Loss to Rs. 564 Crore Profit; AAP Govt Praised
Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Admi Party chief and Delhi chief minister, slammed the opposition parties in Punjab on Saturday, alleging looting, as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has reported a profit of Rs 564 crore under the administration of the newly elected Aam Admi Party government, in stark contrast against a loss of Rs 1,880 crore during the corresponding period a year earlier.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited made a profit riding on the coal mined from its own mine in Jharkhand to fuel the thermal plants in Punjab. Kejriwal also hailed the Aam Admi Party government. “Till now, some families used to loot all the money in Punjab. The public was helpless. Ever since the honest government of the Aam Aadmi Party came, the system has started changing rapidly. These people have looted for 75 years. It will take time. But everything will be fine,” Kejriwal wrote on his X post.
अभी तक पंजाब का सारा पैसा कुछ परिवार लूट लेते थे। जनता बेबस थी। जब से आम आदमी पार्टी की ईमानदार सरकार आयी है, तेज़ी से व्यवस्था बदलने लगी है। 75 साल से इन लोगों ने लूटा है। समय लगेगा। लेकिन सब ठीक करेंगे। pic.twitter.com/JnNYDj5ICm
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 13, 2024
The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Baldev Singh Sra, attributed the profit largely to savings made by using its own fuel for the two state-owned coal-fired power plants, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat in Bathinda and Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant in Rupnagar. The Pachhwara mine, for which successive Punjab governments fought a legal battle for seven years, has already produced 33 lakh metric tonnes of coal, with the first train carrying the fuel chugging out in December 2022.
“We used to spend Rs 3,000 crore extra on power generation costs as we were procuring imported coal. This year, we have been ensuring that our own coal is used in government-run and private thermal plants. We did not allow anyone to import coal. Also, we were able to sell power in the exchange,” said Sra.
According to a senior official, the PSPCL managed to sell power worth over Rs 900 crore and reduced power purchasing to Rs 1,138 crore in the first two quarters of the ongoing fiscal, in stark contrast to the sales worth Rs 290 crore and Rs 1,914 crore spent on power purchases in the corresponding year before.
The Aam Aadmi Party government has ensured timely payment of power subsidies, ensuring a substantial cash inflow, said the official.
