Chandigarh/Patiala/Ludhiana, Sept. 15 -- Battling an unprecedented power crisis that has triggered statewide protests and crippled industrial operations, the Punjab government on Monday replaced Basant Garg as power secretary and chairman-cum-managing Director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). Senior IAS officer Gurkirat Kirpal Singh has been given charge of both positions with immediate effect. The shake-up comes as the state's peak power demand surged to over 17,000 MW, leading to widespread domestic outages and industrial blackouts stretching up to 14 hours. Industrial bodies and Opposition parties have mounted a fierce attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, alleging flawed demand forecasting and grid management. To bridge the deficit, PSPCL is relying heavily on central grid purchases, currently exceeding 11,000 MW, while internal generation languishes near 4,300 MW. Operationally, the state grid remains under severe pressure. Two major private thermal units-one each at Nabha Power and Talwandi Sabo-were non-operational till Friday, while state-owned thermal plants face coal inventory constraints. The PSPCL has issued notices to independent power producers over inadequate coal stocks, and chief secretary KAP Sinha has convened an emergency meeting to review fuel supply and advance procurement strategies. Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a 2001-batch IAS officer who previously served as power secretary now faces the immediate task of stabilising grid supply, securing fuel stocks, and managing peak-load procurement. Garg, a 2005-batch IAS officer, was appointed to the post last year and has been reassigned as secretary, industries and commerce. Punjab's power demand surged to an all-time high of 17,405 MW on Monday, eclipsing the previous record of 17,300 MW witnessed on July 5 last year. Experts say persistent heat, deficient rainfall, high agricultural demand and outages at thermal plants have severely strained the state's power supply system. The state has received around 40% less rainfall than normal during the monsoon season, the highest deficiency among neighbouring states, adding to the dependence on tubewells for irrigation and keeping electricity consumption elevated even in September. The power requirement has remained unusually high for this time of the year, with the maximum demand staying above 16,000 MW amid soaring temperatures and the poor monsoon. Government figures indicate a sharp spike in energy requirements across the state. Total electricity consumption from April to September 13 reached 46,696 million units (MUs), marking a 14% increase from 41,072 MUs during the same period last year. Consumption rose 15% in July (10,765 MUs) and 25% in August (10,340 MUs). The sharpest divergence occurred during the first 13 days of September, where consumption hit 4,237 MUs-a 71% jump compared to 2,478 MUs logged during the corresponding period last year. Maximum demand peaked at 17,423 MW, eclipsing the season's prior high of 17,277 MW. On his part, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said the power crisis was caused by the flooding of coal mines in Jharkhand due to rains. "Things have been resolved. I spoke to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. We wanted to use the allocated coal from Jharkhand for all thermal plants, including private ones. Coal India Limited's permission was sought and it had agreed. The Soren government has also given the go-ahead. All five plants will get adequate coal supply," he said, while addressing a press conference in Chandigarh. Addressing a press conference in Ludhiana, Punjab power minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said the worst of the crisis had subsided and that uninterrupted power had been restored across residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors. "The critical crisis period has passed," Sond said, adding that Punjab successfully handled record-shattering demand. Sond attributed the disruption to coal supply cutbacks by the central government, the withholding of Punjab's 1,000 MW central power share, and unexpected technical failures at private plants. He said one private unit had resumed operation, adding 100 MW to the grid, while all state-owned thermal units were running at capacity. Sond specifically credited the state's recent acquisition of the Guru Amardas Thermal Plant with averting a total grid collapse. The minister also announced that the chief minister has directed utilities to provide farmers with two additional hours of daily power from September 13 onwards, compensating for earlier shortfalls during the crucial paddy cultivation cycle....