AAP Govt responsible for power cuts, failed to add generation capacity in 4.5 yrs: SAD
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, May 3, 2026 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday held the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government directly responsible for prolonged power cuts across Punjab, alleging that no new power generation capacity or major transmission upgrade has been added in the past 4.5 years.
In a statement issued here, senior SAD leader Parambans Singh Romana also accused Power Minister Sanjeev Arora of misleading the public by claiming that sufficient power was available in the State. He alleged that the government was now forced to purchase electricity at nearly ₹15 per unit due to an acute supply shortfall.
Romana said it was “ironical” that both Congress and AAP governments had earlier criticised SAD for signing power purchase agreements at ₹2.86 per unit, while now relying on expensive procurement to meet demand.
He claimed that successive Congress and AAP governments had failed Punjabis by not adding even a single megawatt of new generation capacity. According to him, this had reversed Punjab’s status from a power-surplus to a power-deficient state.
Recalling the SAD tenure, Romana said that before 2007 Punjab faced severe power shortages across agriculture, domestic, and industrial sectors. He credited former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for transforming Punjab into a power-surplus state by adding around 8,000 MW capacity in a decade, taking total generation to nearly 13,961 MW.
He further stated that at the end of the SAD government’s tenure, Punjab had an additional buffer of around 3,000 MW over peak demand.
Romana added that during the last 9.5 years, consumption had increased to around 18,000 MW, but no corresponding addition in generation capacity was made by the Congress or AAP governments, leading to repeated power cuts.
He also criticised the state government for failing to strengthen the transmission network, claiming it has resulted in frequent breakdowns due to system overload.
The SAD leader highlighted that during its tenure, the party had invested around ₹5,000 crore in upgrading transmission infrastructure, reducing transmission losses from 32 per cent to 17 per cent. He also claimed that 200 new power grids were added during that period, compared to only about 60 grids added in the subsequent years.