Mann Government Must Stop Blaming Centre and Take Responsibility for Its Incompetence, Inexperience and Failure on Power Crisis: Tarun Chugh

Chandigarh, September 13, 2026: BJP National Office In-Charge and MP Tarun Chugh launched a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann government over the deepening power crisis in Punjab, saying that the Aam Aadmi Party had made tall promises of providing 24-hour uninterrupted electricity to the people of Punjab before coming to power, but those promises now stand completely exposed. Industries in Punjab are facing power cuts of up to 14 hours, domestic consumers are suffering and farmers are also being affected. Despite this, the Bhagwant Mann government is once again trying to escape accountability by blaming the Central Government for its own failures.

Chugh said that the AAP government that made a ‘Power Promise’ has now become a ‘Power Cut’ government. The government that promised 24-hour electricity must explain why adequate arrangements were not made when it knew well in advance that power demand would rise. The paddy season, irrigation requirements, high temperatures and rising domestic and industrial consumption were all predictable. Yet the Mann government failed to make adequate advance arrangements for power generation, coal and power procurement.

Tarun Chugh said that the Punjab Government’s attempt to attribute the power crisis to inadequate coal supply from the Centre does not stand up to the facts. According to official data released by the Ministry of Coal on September 6, 2026, coal stock at Punjab’s three state-owned thermal power plants stood at around 117% of the normative requirement as on September 4. Despite this adequate coal stock, the three plants utilised only around 42% of their generation capacity during August 2026. In other words, adequate coal was available, but Punjab’s own government-owned plants failed to generate electricity according to their available capacity. Blaming the entire power crisis on the Centre is therefore nothing more than an attempt by the Punjab Government to run away from its responsibility.

He said that Punjab’s three state-owned thermal power plants — Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Station at Lehra Mohabbat, Goindwal Sahib Thermal Power Plant and Ropar Thermal Power Station — have a combined capacity of 2,300 MW. Yet these plants utilised only around 42% of their generation capacity in August. In contrast, Punjab-based private power producer Nabha Power Limited operated at around 93% of its generation capacity during the same period. When a private power plant in the same state can operate at approximately 93% capacity while Punjab’s own government plants utilise only around 42%, the Mann government must answer for its poor plant management and generation performance.

Chugh said that the Centre has also extended substantial support to Punjab in ensuring coal availability. The Central Government has enabled the movement of coal from PSPCL’s captive Pachhwara Central Coal Mine to Punjab-based power plants, subject to statutory requirements. Coal from the captive mine can also be utilised by Punjab-based IPPs such as Nabha Power Limited and Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, under the prescribed conditions. The Punjab Government must therefore explain why available resources and mechanisms were not fully utilised to meet the state’s power requirements.

Tarun Chugh said that Coal India’s subsidiaries have also proactively offered coal to Punjab-based IPPs, but the coal offered has not been fully booked and lifted. CCL offered 5 lakh tonnes of coal to Nabha Power and Talwandi Sabo Power on March 30, 2026. However, only around 4.1 lakh tonnes has been booked and approximately 3.1 lakh tonnes lifted so far. BCCL offered 3.5 lakh tonnes to Nabha Power, against which only around 1.3 lakh tonnes was booked and about 0.98 lakh tonnes lifted. These figures expose the weakness of the Punjab Government’s attempt to blame the entire crisis on the Centre’s coal supply.

Chugh said that if the Centre has facilitated coal availability, if Punjab’s own thermal plants have 117% of normative coal stock, and if a private power plant in Punjab is operating at approximately 93% capacity, then Bhagwant Mann must answer a straightforward question: why are Punjab’s own government power plants utilising only around 42% of their generation capacity? Why are generating units facing technical problems? Why was timely maintenance not ensured? Why was adequate preparation not made despite the predictable rise in power demand? And why were available resources not fully utilised before the crisis intensified?

Chugh said that the Punjab Government must understand that the people of Punjab gave the AAP a mandate to govern, not a licence to make excuses. Blaming the Centre will neither restart industrial machinery nor run farmers’ tubewells nor provide electricity to people’s homes. The responsibility of the Punjab Government is to arrange power from every available source, immediately restore non-operational generating units, ensure timely coal lifting and implement both an immediate and long-term plan to meet the state’s rising power demand.

He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government has continuously supported Punjab’s energy requirements. If the Punjab Government has a genuine issue regarding any shortfall in power received from the Centre, it should place the complete facts and figures before the Central Government and work towards a solution. But using the Centre as a scapegoat to hide its own generation, plant utilisation, coal management and power procurement failures cannot be accepted.

Tarun Chugh said that Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal must answer the people of Punjab about what happened to their election promise of 24-hour electricity. The people were promised ‘free and 24-hour electricity’, but the reality today is ‘Power Cuts, Power Crisis and Government Excuses’.

Chugh demanded that the Punjab Government immediately issue a White Paper on the power crisis and make public complete details regarding the state’s total available generation capacity, generation by government thermal plants, coal stocks, coal offered by Coal India and its lifting, the status of private thermal plants, power procurement and power received from the Centre. He said that the people of Punjab do not need political blame games; they need adequate and uninterrupted electricity supply.