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The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued show-cause notices to power utilities running thermal plants in Punjab for their failure to meet the deadline to reduce emissions.
Won’t let another tariff hike: BJP
State BJP president Ashwini Sharma on Thursday said their party would oppose any move to hike power tariff further. “We will start an agitation if that happens,” he said, adding that even as costly PPAs were signed during the SAD-BJP regime, little was passed on to the consumers.
In the notice dated January 31, a day before Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted in the Budget speech that coal-fired power stations failing to meet standards might be shut down, the CPCB has asked the operators of 14 thermal stations to respond within 15 days. Punjab thermal plants also figure on the list.
The notices were issued to the power utilities operating thermal plants within 300 km of the National Capital Region. They have been told to file their reply by February 15.
Power utilities near Delhi and NCR are required to install modern flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) units to control pollution by thermal plants. Industry insiders say the conversion cost will be around Rs 73 lakh per mega watts and will be ultimately passed on to consumers.
In Punjab, Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo thermal plants are in the private sector, while the ones at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat are owned by the state. The PSPCL has already started the process of installing the equipment.
“The power corporation has forwarded the case for the construction of supercritical units to the government. The estimated cost of compliance is Rs 73 lakh per MW. The high cost may trigger tariff hike from 32 to 72 paise per unit,” said spokesperson for All India Power Engineers Federation VK Gupta.
