The PSEB Engineers Association has written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, highlighting the “urgent augmentation of in-state power generation capacity to address emerging power shortage and safeguard Punjab’s economic growth”.Following recent power cuts affecting various categories of consumers across Punjab, the association wrote, “Under your leadership, PSPCL had earned national recognition by securing A and A+ ratings among the top power utilities in the country during the last two financial years and has successfully handled state energy security during flooding/extreme heat waves. However, the present situation in PSPCL has deteriorated alarmingly. As the professional association representing Punjab’s power engineers, we bear a solemn responsibility to alert the Government to the imminent financial and power crisis facing the state’s power sector.”The letter further stated, “The power sector of Punjab is once again facing an increasingly serious challenge of financial distress and power shortages. The emerging power shortage is already affecting key sectors, including industry, agriculture and domestic consumers, and the situation is likely to become significantly more critical in the coming years unless immediate steps are taken to augment generation capacity within the State. There is an extreme coal shortage in the Private Thermal Plants (IPPs) of Punjab.”It further mentioned that the financial position of PSPCL had been steadily weakening, primarily due to pending subsidy dues from the Punjab Government and mounting defaults by various government departments in clearing electricity bills.Compounding the situation, the association said, expenditure projections in the recent ARR were deliberately underestimated, resulting in an artificially reduced tariff determination and thereby inflicting severe financial stress upon the corporation.“During the current financial year alone, PSPCL is expected to face a revenue shortfall of approximately Rs 7,800 crore against its actual expenditure requirements. Furthermore, during the peak summer season, Punjab’s internal generation capacity falls drastically short of its soaring power demand, compelling PSPCL to rely heavily on expensive power procurement from energy exchanges,” the letter stated.Association flags unreliable power bankingAssociation general secretary Ajay Pal Singh Atwal further stated in the letter, “This vulnerability is further compounded by the growing unreliability of inter-state power banking arrangements. For instance, hydro-rich states like Himachal Pradesh have increasingly opted to capitalise on high open-market prices during peak summer months rather than engaging in power banking with Punjab.”“Consequently, reliance on market-based procurement and banking offers no guaranteed energy security. Unless Punjab urgently augments its own state-sector thermal generation capacity, thereby securing firm, round-the-clock (RTC) base-load power to meet critical non-solar and night-time peak demand, the state will remain trapped in a cycle of acute, recurring power shortages every summer,” he added.Punjab is increasingly dependent on power procured from outside the state and on private profit-driven IPPs to meet its growing demand.“Apart from exposing the State to uncertainty in power availability and market prices, such dependence results in substantial financial outflow from Punjab, as huge amounts are paid to private generation companies in Punjab and in other States for purchase of electricity. The quantum of power being procured from outside the State, along with the corresponding financial burden, warrants an urgent policy review,” the letter said.The association said it had repeatedly highlighted the issue through various letters and communications and suggested timely augmentation of generation capacity in the state sector.The association has appealed to the Chief Minister to treat augmentation of generation capacity as an immediate and critical strategic priority and direct the Power Corporation to immediately initiate the following generation projects on an urgent basis.