Amid mounting public outrage over prolonged power cuts during prevailing heatwave, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has revised its protocol for planned outages, capping the duration at a maximum of four hours per day.
In an official order issued on April 23, the PSPCL management noted that zonal offices had been proposing outages ranging from 6 to 8 hours for maintenance and new works.
However, citing the sudden rise in temperature and the need to provide relief to the public, the corporation has now restricted such outages to four hours daily. “No planned outage for maintenance or new works shall exceed a duration of 4 hours per day,” reads the letter issued on Thursday by director distribution.
The revised protocol comes a day after PSPCL faced criticism for enforcing scheduled power cuts ranging from 8 to 10 hours across major cities, including Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali and Bathinda. The outages, implemented between April 21 and 28, triggered widespread complaints from residents already grappling with extreme heat conditions.
Officials had defended the cuts, citing ongoing maintenance and infrastructure upgrades ahead of the peak paddy season, when power demand is expected to exceed 17,000 MW
Oppn, govt trade barbs
The development also invited the ire of Opposition parties, which alleged “gross mismanagement” by the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government.
Accusing the AAP of pushing the power surplus Punjab to a power deficit state, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring questioned the PSPCL’s claim that the power cuts were “planned” and had been necessitated for maintenance reasons. He asked why the corporation did not carry out the maintenance in winter.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar also questioned why the maintenance work couldn’t be completed in February or March. Jakhar said from businesses to commoners, everyone was hamstrung by the outages, adding that such major repair work was never scheduled during peak summer before.
“With power cuts during the day, industries are forced to operate at night, increasing both operational costs and the financial burden on the power corporation,” he said.
Defending PSPCL’s move, AAP leader Neel Garg said the power cuts were being imposed to strengthen the electricity infrastructure and to prevent major technical failures in the future.
Hitting back at Jakhar for his statement, he said, “It is extremely ironic that those who pushed Punjab into decades of power crisis and darkness during their rule are today shedding crocodile tears and doing politics over a mere 2-hour maintenance-related power cut meant to strengthen the system.”
“Darkness was ‘normal’ for them back then, but today, when the Mann government is fixing the system, they see it as a ‘problem’,” Garg added.
Stricter supervision, accountability
While cutting down the daily outages hours, PSPCL has also mandated stricter supervision and accountability.
“All shutdown-related works must now be overseen by an officer not below the rank of AE/AEE, while necessary materials must be arranged at least one day in advance to avoid delays. Senior officers have been directed to conduct random site inspections to ensure work quality and progress,” the letter reads.
Additionally, PSPCL has introduced tighter reporting norms. PSPCL officials said completion reports for each feeder must be submitted to zonal offices, which will then forward consolidated reports by 12 noon the following day. “All outages will be properly recorded on the corporation’s distribution portal, with senior officials held responsible for compliance,” said a senior official of PSPCL.
(With PTI inputs)