Modi permits surplus power sale to Pakistan: Amarinder Singh

CHANDIGARH: Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given green signal to the state to sell surplus power to Pakistan, reported foreign media.

The chief minister had earlier sought Centre’s sanction to supply power across border to curtail expenditure on fixed costs and costly power that state is obligated to buy as per power purchase agreements.

Amarinder also revealed that Modi had indicated that Punjab should look for other trade options with Pakistan. Last week, the chief minister had sought permission to sell its surplus power to Pakistan or Nepal in the economic interest of the cash-crunched state.

The state is left with 1000-MW surplus power after meeting its domestic demand, and consumers are forced to pay extra taxes to sustain fixed cost of power generating units.