Patiala: Asserting Punjab was drawing power within limits; the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited on Wednesday accused Haryana of overdrawing from the northern grid.
During the past month, Haryana overdrew 18 per cent more than its prescribed limit, PSPCL CMD K D Chaudhary told a press conference here.
Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan overdrew 31 per cent and 18 per cent respectively more power from the grid, he said.
During the intervening night of July 29-30, Haryana overdrew 25.5 per cent power and Punjab only 5.5 per cent, the CMD said.
Haryana overdrew 22.4 per cent power from the central pool on July 31 resulting in the collapse of the northern grid, he said adding Punjab's overdrawal was only 1.2 per cent yesterday.
Punjab was a very disciplined state with regard to drawing power from the central pool, Chaudhary said.
Rubbishing allegations that Punjab was one of the states responsible for the failure of the northern grid, he said the state was drawing power as per schedule and within limits of the transmission capacity.
"PSPCL never did anything which put the grid in danger. We adhere to guidelines of the Northern Region Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC)," Chaudhary said.
"We overdraw power when the frequency remains above 49.7 Hz and when there is sufficient power in the grid. Punjab has overdrawn by 200 MW on an average which is safe and does not put the grid in danger," he said.
"No one can blame Punjab as we have bought power worth Rs 7,000 crore this year to meet the demand," he said.
Punjab had been demanding for long that NRLDC must
increase the out limit of drawl from 5,400 MW to 6,000 MW as the demand had increased in the state.
"Even I raised the matter at a meeting with higher officials of the northern grid and also submitted a proposal in the first week of July.
"But, till date no one has granted us the additional capacity to draw power," the CMD said.
Northern, eastern and north-eastern grids that cater to over half of the country's 1.2 billion population collapsed yesterday bringing most parts of the country to a grinding halt.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, August 01, 2012, 22:59