Punjabs Power Worries Deepen As Bathinda Plant Goes Offline

All four units of the 920-MW Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat in Bathinda district were shut down on Sunday due to technical glitches, further denting the state’s power generation capacity during peak summer and paddy season when electricity demand is at its highest.

The latest shutdown comes at a time when two thermal power units across two other plants in the state are already out of order due to technical faults, resulting in a loss of nearly 1,410 MW of generation capacity.

With the closure of the entire Lehra Mohabbat plant, concerns are mounting over Punjab State Power Corporation Limited’s (PSPCL) ability to meet the growing demand for electricity in the coming days.

According to PSPCL data, the fourth and last operational unit at Lehra Mohabbat was shut down on Sunday, rendering the entire 920-MW plant non-functional. Three units of the plant were already out of operation due to ash handling problems and clinker formation, while snags have also affected units at Ropar and Goindwal Sahibthermal plants.

Punjab’s peak power demand on Sunday stood at around 15,500 MW, which the state met by drawing 10,500 MW from the national power grid, just 400 MW short of the maximum permissible limit of 10,900 MW.

Hydel and solar power projects also helped PSPCL manage the situation. Hydel generation currently stands at 927 MW, with all four units of the Ranjit Sagar Dam operating at full capacity.

The development has come at a particularly challenging time for PSPCL, when paddy transplantation has reached its peak phase, with lakhs of farmers relying on tubewells for irrigation. The situation has been further aggravated by below-normal rainfall in June, forcing farmers to extract more groundwater for paddy cultivation, resulting in a sharp increase in power demand.

Alongside agricultural demand, domestic power consumption has also increased due to intense summer heat. In recent days, Punjab’s power demand has remained close to record levels, putting additional pressure on the utility.

Officials said PSPCL was already drawing substantial power from the central generating stations and the northern grid to bridge the gap between demand and supply. However, with multiple thermal units remaining shut, the corporation’s dependence on purchased power is expected to increase.

The crisis has also been compounded by an ongoing strike by contractual workers at state-run thermal plants. The workers have been demanding regularisation of services and have reportedly refused to undertake repair works on units that have developed technical faults, delaying restoration efforts.

Power sector experts warned that if the shutdowns continue and demand rises further in the coming days, PSPCL may face difficulties in maintaining uninterrupted power supply.

While the corporation is likely to prioritise power supply to the agriculture sector during the paddy season, domestic consumers could face outages.

Senior officials at the Lehra Mohabbat plant maintained that restoration work would only be undertaken after the strike ends, as deploying inexperienced staff for the repairs could lead to mishaps.

Karam Prakash is a Patiala-based senior correspondent covering several districts of Malwa region of Punjab. He writes on various domains, including health, agriculture, power and education.