· Warring Flags 12 Hour Power Cuts In Cities Like Ludhiana; Says Industry Shut Down, Paddy Crops Wilting

Sep13,2026 | Jagrati Lahar Bureau | Chandigarh

· Alleges, AAP gets dubious distinction for pushing Punjab into darkness, literally

· Says, people have to use candles to light their houses

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today said that the Aam Aadmi Party had got yet another dubious distinction of pushing Punjab into darkness, literally where there are 12 to 18 hour long power cuts and people have to use candles to light their houses.

He said, the state’s power crisis had deepened, with farmers struggling to save paddy crops, industries facing restrictions and villages witnessing prolonged power cuts.

Warring said the situation had reached a critical stage as Punjab’s peak electricity demand was around 16,000 MW, while generation was only about 4,000 MW. Despite the state sourcing nearly 11,500 MW of power from outside, he claimed, the gap between demand and availability continued to cause severe disruption.

“Crops nurtured like sons are drying up, while paddy is wilting,” the PCC president said, highlighting the impact of power shortages on agriculture during the crucial paddy-growing season.

He said that farmers were being forced to depend on expensive diesel-powered generators to run irrigation pumps, increasing their input costs at a time when they were already facing mounting agricultural expenses.

The Congress leader also raised concerns over the impact of the crisis on Punjab’s industrial sector. He said industries were being asked to shut down from 8 pm, while power cuts in residential areas had become frequent and even inverters in homes were failing to provide relief because of prolonged outages.

The situation, according to Warring, has particularly affected rural areas, with villages reporting repeated electricity cuts. He said the disruption of power supply at a time when farmers require electricity for irrigation was putting standing paddy crops at risk.

He said one unit each at the Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo thermal power plants was shut, further constraining the state’s ability to meet demand.

Warring said the Rajpura thermal plant had only around seven days of coal stock, while the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant had approximately four days of coal remaining.

He noted that the Bhagwant Mann government had failed to adequately prepare for the seasonal surge in electricity demand and demanded immediate steps to restore reliable supply to agriculture, industry and households.

-punjabpowercrisis-rajawarring-punjabcongress-powercuts-ludhiananews