Punjab faces prolonged blackouts as coal shortages strain grid
Punjab is dealing with massive power cuts, some lasting up to 14 hours a day. With demand for electricity soaring and coal shortages hitting hard, the state's grid just can't keep up.
This summer's peak power load jumped way past last year's numbers, with Punjab's peak load touching 16,519 MW on Saturday after reaching 16,619 MW a day earlier, compared with 12,489 MW during the same period last year.
Factories pause or switch to diesel
Factories in cities like Ludhiana and Mohali have had to pause production or switch to expensive diesel generators.
Out in Moga, farmers are barely getting an hour of electricity, putting their crops at risk.
The frustration has sparked protests across Punjab as people demand reliable power for work and daily life.
Nabha, Talwandi Sabo offline, imports insufficient
A 700 MW unit at the private Nabha Power plant in Rajpura and a 660 MW unit at Talwandi Sabo are offline right now, cutting generation by nearly 1,915 megawatts.
To fill the gap, Punjab's electricity board is drawing over 11,000 megawatts from the northern grid, but it's still not enough to stop the blackouts.