Sidhu: Provide 300 units of free electricity and 24-hour power supply to Punjab

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday (July 4) pitched for 300 units of free electricity and 24-hour power supply to consumers in Punjab. Amid the power crisis in the state, the Congress leader also asked for domestic and industrial consumers to be given electricity at cheaper rates.

“Punjab already provides 9000 crore subsidy but we must do more for Domestic & Industrial consumer giving power at ₹3-5 per unit instead of surcharge inflated ₹10-12 per unit, along 24-hour supply with No Power-Cuts & Free Power (Up to 300 Units).. It is definitely achievable,” tweeted Sidhu.

Sidhu’s tweet followed days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s promise to provide 300 units of free electricity for each household and all day supply if AAP comes to power next year. The cricketer-turned-politician reiterated that faulty power purchase agreements signed during the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime should be nullified through a law.

“Let us start with Congress High Commands Pro-People 18 Point Agenda and get rid of the faulty un-negotiable Badal-signed Power Purchase Agreements through New Legislation in Punjab Vidhan Sabha fixing rates as per National Power Exchange with No fixed charges!” said Sidhu in another tweet.

Earlier, Sidhu battled for a law to nullify the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed during the previous SAD-BJP governance. The Amritsar East legislator and Punjab CM, Amarinder Singh, have been at odds with the former attacking the latter with multiple issues in the past.

Also read: Navjot Sidhu gets back at Punjab CM, this time over power crisis

On July 3, Punjab CM, Amarinder Singh, said his government would soon announce its legal strategy to counter the faulty PPAs during the previous SAD-BJP regime. Singh had also said these PPAs, already under review, had unnecessarily burdened the state with financial problems.

Of the 139 PPAs signed during by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government, 17 were enough to cater to the states full power demand, according to the CM.

“The remaining 122 for 1314 MWs of expensive power were inexplicably signed, putting an unnecessary financial burden on the state,” said Punjab CM.

Before coming to power in 2017, the Congress promised to renegotiate the existing PPAs to ensure low cost power. Punjab had been reeling under an unprecedented power shortage with urban and rural areas facing long hours of load shedding amid scorching heat.

The State-owned power utility Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), on July 3, said that following the measures taken by the state government, eight-hours of power was being supplied to all agriculture consumers and there were also no scheduled power cuts on domestic, commercial, small and medium supply industrial consumers in the state.