926 1 IN the election year, the buzzword across Punjab is power — political as well as electrical. The Congress government is struggling to provide eight-hour uninterrupted supply to farmers, a make-or-break vote bank, during the paddy transplantation season, even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced up to 300 units of free electricity if the Aam Aadmi Party comes to power in the state. A month ago, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission had reduced the tariff for domestic consumers with monthly consumption of less than 300 units by up to 20 per cent, a move that was aimed at wooing around 70 lakh users. Amid this competitive politics, the irony is not lost on anyone: though the state is ‘power-surplus’, both urban and rural areas are facing long, unscheduled cuts. The peak summer, coupled with a delayed monsoon, has pushed the maximum power demand in the state to over 14,500 MW, which is about 1,500 MW higher than what the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited is supplying.