Big jolt to bizmen as PSERC says no to fixed charge waiver

Ludhiana: In a big jolt to the industry, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has ruled out waiving of the fixed charges levied on the industrial power connections for two months during the lockdown period (March 23 till May 23). Now, the businessmen will have to pay these in six monthly instalments.
The PSERC order comes on a petition filed by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) with the former, which was filed after the state government had ordered the PSPCL to waive the fixed charges for two months. The order has caused huge furore among the businessmen who are demanding that the PSERC was an anti-industry body and it should be dissolved with immediate effect.
Speaking on the issue, Jaswinder Thukral, president of Janta Nagar Small Scale Manufacturers Association (JSMA), who had also deposed before the PSERC against the PSPCL’s petition said, “The PSERC in its decision taken on July 17 has cleared that the fixed charges of two months, which were waived for us, will be charged by the PSPCL in six instalments, starting from the month of September. This is very disappointing and painful for us that the PSERC has given an anti-industry verdict in this case and moreover it’s very shocking that the commission which is a government body is not ready to abide with the decision of the state government itself. When chief minister of Punjab had clearly ordered the PSPCL to waive the fixed charges for two months on account of losses incurred due to the lockdown, then how can the PSERC support PSPCL’s stand of taking the fixed charges from the industry when we did no business and incurred heavy losses.”
Thukral also added, “This decision has clearly exposed the regulatory commission and showed it as an anti-industry body, which does not pay heed to the government orders. Moreover, crores of rupees of the tax payers are going down the drain in terms of expenditure being incurred by the PSERC on its plush office and other things. So, when this organisation is not working judiciously, it should be immediately dissolved. If the PSERC and PSPCL think that we will sit silent on this injustice being done to us, they are wrong. We will take up this matter with the chief minister and if required hit the streets if the fixed charges for the two months are not waived.”
According to Inderjit Singh, another businessman, “The decision of the PSERC is a huge setback for the entire industry and the state government should take immediate notice of this. As far as fixed charges are concerned, these are the charges which are slapped on us per month even if there is no consumption of power. The fixed charges for every power meter range from several thousands to even lakhs in case of large consumers. It is our appeal to the state government to change the decision of the PSERC and give us waiver on the fixed charges, so that some losses of ours can be wiped of.”
Swinder Singh, a member of the JSMA, said, “Due to the ongoing situation after the lockdown, the condition of the industry is very bad right now and due to fall in income and rise in the expenditures, the industry is in dire straits. It’s high time that Punjab government steps into action and take the right call by waiving the fixed charges on industrial power connections for at least one year. This is how the industry will come back on the right track or else there is no hope.”