PATIALA, Nov 12 (IANS) — Powercom engineers in Patiala have strongly condemned the Punjab government and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) management over the suspension of the Chief Engineer of Ropar Thermal Plant and the removal of the Director (Generation). They termed the actions as unjust and based on non-technical, baseless grounds. The engineers also voiced opposition to the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025 and alleged attempts to privatise state power assets.
At a regional protest meeting attended by over 100 engineers, regional secretaries Jatinder Singh Oberoi, Preetinder Singh, and Damandeep Singh Mann said that comparing 35–40-year-old government thermal plants using sub-critical technology with modern private super-critical plants was unfair and misleading.
Citing official data from the Power Purchase and Regulation Wing, they noted that the power generation cost at Talwandi Sabo’s private thermal plant was Rs 3.77 per unit, while it stood at Rs 3.81 and Rs 3.91 per unit at Goindwal Sahib and Ropar thermal plants, respectively — a marginal difference of only 4 to 14 paise.
The engineers alleged that the government was fostering an environment of fear to facilitate the sale of PSPCL and PSTCL assets to corporates. They also criticised political interference in PSPCL’s technical and procurement processes, warning that such actions undermine the corporation’s autonomy and could severely impact its performance.
–IANS
