Chandigarh, August 2
Punjab Power and Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Friday said that the Guru Amardas Thermal Plant (GATP) which has recently been acquired by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh led Punjab Government, is operating at a record Plant Load Factor (PLF).
In a press communiqué issued here, the Power Minister said that the thermal plant has operated at PLF of about 89.7 per cent in July 2024 with 327Mus of Energy Scheduled. He termed it as a major achievement, stating that the thermal plant was acquired by the Punjab Government in February 2024 only.
He further said that since the beginning of fiscal year 2024-25, the Plant Load Factor of the thermal plant has improved significantly.
The Minister said, “During the current fiscal (2024-25), the PLF was 66 per cent for April, 82 per cent for May and 78 per cent for June”, adding that the average PLF till July remained 79 per cent.
The Cabinet Minister noted that before the acquisition of this thermal plant, it’s average PLF was merely 34 per cent over the period April 2016 to January 2024.
Further, the Minister informed that before the acquisition, Guru Amardas Thermal Power Plant had achieved its maximum PLF of 77 per cent in March 2019 with about 282 MUs of Energy Scheduled. The average PLF of the thermal plant was about 51 per cent only in the last fiscal (2023-24), he added.
Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO hailed this achievement as a major success, highlighting the Punjab Government’s commitment to enhancing the efficiency and performance of the state’s power infrastructure.
