Power Usage Breaks Records; Paddy Transplanting Empties Groundwater

With temperatures soaring above 115°F (46°C), Panjab is in the grip of a heatwave. Meteorologists attribute the current heatwave to delayed western disturbances and shifting jet streams. The delay of western disturbances, which usually bring pre-monsoon showers in early June, are now forecast to arrive in the third week of June, a delay of 7-10 days. On 12 Jun, power consumption in the state set a new record at 16,711 MW, surpassing the previous all-time peak demand of 16,192 MW recorded on 11 Jun. The steep surge has placed strain on Punjab State Power Corporation Limited as the state grapples with soaring temperatures and a massive power demand by the agriculture sector. Panjab's drawing limit from the northern grid stands at 10,400 MW while Panjab's maximum domestic generation capacity is estimated to be around 6,500 MW under optimal conditions. Since paddy replantation is on, the state is prioritizing the rural sector leaving urban Panjab with 12-18 hour power cuts. However, farmers are reluctant to adopt early-maturing paddy varieties such as PR-126. ‘If we sow PR-126, it will be ready by September, but there won’t be any procurement in the mandis at that time,’ said a farmer from Laddi village in Sangrur. ‘Last year, our crops went unsold and got damaged. This will happen again,’ he added. Despite a state-imposed ban on long-duration paddy varieties, farmers have continued sowing the water-guzzling, long-duration PUSA-44 variety. On the govt allowing early paddy transplantation, an expert from Punjab Agricultural University—who did not want to be named—said, 'Panjab has 1.53M tubewells. There are three cycles in which 510K tubewells will run at a time in the next 20 days leading to extraction of 8.80 million-acre feet (MAF) of water. The usable storage capacity of the Bhakra Dam, when it is filled up to 1,680 ft, is 4.87 MAF of water. Hence, it will be twice the capacity of the Bhakra Dam.' This is how Panjab loses about 10 MAF of groundwater every year (earlier coverage).