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Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the state government has bought a 540-megawatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib.
The power plant, earlier owned by a private company GVK Power, has been bought for ₹1,080 crore, he said.
“It is for the first time that a private power plant is being bought by the government,” Mann said at a news conference here.
“We have purchased it for ₹1,080 crore, which works out to a cost of ₹2 crore per megawatt, making it the cheapest buy in the country.
“For the first time, this reverse trend has started that the government has purchased any private power plant, whereas in the previous governments in the state used to sell assets to the favourite individuals at ‘throw-away’ prices,” he said.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in July last year filed a bid to take over the 540 MegaWatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib.
The 540-MW thermal power plant is an independent power plant and is spread over 1,100 acres of land in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran.
Mann said the power plant will now be named Sri Guru Amardas Thermal Power Plant after the third Sikh Guru.
The chief minister also announced to review power purchase agreement (PPA) for the purchase of solar power in the state.
He said the state government has purchased the solar power now at ₹2.54 paise per unit, whereas during the earlier tenures, an exorbitant amount of even ₹15 was paid for the same purchase.
“This will be reviewed by all means, and anyone who had minted money by bringing loss to state exchequer will be brought to book,” he added.
The available capacity of the power plant was 61 per cent, whereas it was used only up to 34 per cent, but now it will be run to 75-80 per cent, thereby augmenting the power generation in the state, the chief minister noted.
He said with the buying of this private power plant, one out of 3 power purchase agreements with private thermal plants have been terminated.
Mann said that coal from the Pachwara coal mine can be used only for government power plants so with the purchase of this power plant this coal can be aptly utilised for producing power to provide it to every sector of the state.
The chief minister said that this purchase will help in the reduction in overall tariff by over ₹1 per unit and added that it will lead to savings of ₹300-350 crore on power purchases, thereby benefiting the consumers of the state.
With the acquisition of this plant, there will be three government and two private thermal plants operational in the state now.
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Published: 05 Jan 2024, 10:25 PM IST
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