Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its promise of providing 300 units of free electricity to every household in Punjab if it wins the upcoming Assembly polls, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday said 바카라hollow promises바카라 of free power are meaningless until the power purchase agreements currently existing in the state are nullified.
Sidhu has also demanded that the power purchase agreements (PPA) signed in Punjab by the previous SAD-BJP regime be nullified through a law.
바카라Hollow promises of Free power have No meaning until PPAs are annulled through a 바카라New Legislation in Punjab Vidhan Sabha바카라 ... 300 units of free power is merely a fantasy, until the faulty clauses in PPAs are keeping Punjab bonded,바카라 the Congress leader tweeted.
Sidhu바카라s comments come amid a power crisis in Punjab. While Sidhu has also batted for providing up to 300 units of free electricity to every household and round-the-clock power supply to consumers in Punjab, he stated that the cost of power can be cheaper if the fixed charges being given to private power plants under the PPAs were not paid.
바카라PPAs bind Punjab to pay fixed charges for 100% production, whereas other States pay No more than 80% ... If these fixed charges being paid to Private Power Plants under PPAs were not paid, it would directly & immediately decrease cost of Power in Punjab by Rs. 1.20 per unit,바카라 claimed the Amritsar East legislator.
Questioning the clauses of the power purchase pacts, Sidhu claimed that PPAs, which were signed during the previous regime were based on a 바카라wrong calculation바카라 of power demand in the state.
바카라Peak Demand of 13,000-14,000 MW is only for four Months whereas Non-Peak power demand falls down to 5000-6000 MW, But PPAs have been designed & signed to pay fixed charges at the peak demand,바카라 he claimed.
He also pointed out that there was no provision for mandatory supply of electricity during the paddy transplantation.
바카라Even more alarming ! There is No Provision for mandatory supply of power from these Private Power Plants during the peak season under the PPAs... Thus, they have shut down two power plants in this paddy-sowing season without repairing them & Punjab has to buy additional power,바카라 Sidhu claimed in another tweet.
He claimed that the 바카라faulty바카라 PPAs have cost people of Punjab 바카라thousands of crore바카라.
바카라Punjab has paid 3200 crore just as Coal-washing charges due to faulty replies to pre-bid queries before signing PPAs. Private Plants keep finding loopholes to file litigation that has cost Punjab 25,000 crore already,바카라 he claimed.
Sidhu slammed the Badals for the power purchase pacts, alleging these were designed to 바카라benefit바카라 them.
Alleging that the PPAs are "just another example of Badal family's corruption, designed to give corrupt benefits to Badals... without any thought for welfare of Punjabis," he said a "New Legislation & White-Paper on PPAs in Vidhan Sabha is our only path to Justice".
Under fire from the ruling Congress and the AAP over signing "faulty" power-purchase pacts during its regime, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday to scrap these agreements but also ensure that any power shortfall is covered at cheaper rates.
(With PTI inputs)
