Photo for representational purpose only

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 24

Power-surplus Punjab wants to hike electricity rates further following a shortfall in revenue in the current fiscal due to continuous lockdown and dip in demand during a large period of the year.

According to its annual revenue requirement (ARR) petition filed before the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has sought almost over 8 per cent power tariff hike for the next fiscal.

The PSPCL has sought an increase of 53 paisa per unit which means that the power, which now costs somewhere Rs 6.51 per unit, will then cost Rs 7.04 per unit. Last fiscal, the PSPCL had sought a hike by around 12 to 14.10 per cent in the existing rates but the PSERC allowed an average tariff hike of 2.14 per cent across categories for 2019-20.

Every year, the Punjab Government gives a written commitment on subsidy and every year, there is a huge shortfall that impacts the PSPCL finances. This year, till December 15, the shortfall of subsidy is somewhere around Rs 5,187 crore which will rise further by March 31, 2021, when the fiscal ends.

The current financial year subsidy, including arrears, is Rs 16,400 crore. The arrears of the current financial year will add up to the subsidy of the next year. The next year’s projected subsidy amount is Rs 13,398 crore where the revised tariff may exceed Rs 20,000 crore.

While the tubewell rate has been increased from Rs 5.6 to 6.4 per unit, the actual revenue may be around Rs 3 per unit due to subsidy deficit which implies a loss of Rs 3.4 per unit on agriculture power supply. “In the case of large industrial consumers, the rate has been increased from 7.4 to Rs 8 per unit but the Punjab Government has fixed Rs 5 as the limit and the balance of Rs 3 will remain only on paper. The government should give details of how and why subsidy shortfall occurred in 2020-21 and how the subsidy will be ensured in 2021-22,” said All India Power

Engineers’ Federation spokesperson VK Gupta.

The government charges 20 per cent tax on power unit rates decided by the PSERC. The PSPCL has also sought a hike in fixed charges for all categories of consumers. “The PSPCL has projected a net annual revenue requirement of Rs 37,657 crore and projected revenue of Rs 32,745 crore as per the current rate, leaving a gap of Rs 3,352 crore. This revenue gap jumps to Rs 8,363 crore by adding the gaps of last two financial years. To meet this financial gap, the PSPCL has sought category-wise overall hike of 8.1 per cent,” as per the ARR.

As per the petition, the PSPCL has demanded lowest-ever power hike in domestic, while the highest-ever increase of 13 per cent has been sought for small category consumers.

To give cross-subsidy to domestic consumers, as is done in the National Capital, the PSPCL has proposed hiking cross-subsidy of around 13 per cent to pass the minimum tariff hike on them.

Charges lower in other states

Punjab is moving towards becoming one of the highest tariff states in the country, with a hike every year. The average tariff for domestic consumers comes out to be roughly Rs7.41 per unit in Punjab. Many states which are usually buying power to meet their demand are charging less than Punjab, which include Assam (Rs7.25 per unit), Uttar Pradesh (Rs7 per unit plus Rs110 /KW), Haryana (Rs7.10 per unit), Chhattisgarh (Rs4.85 per KWH as fixed charges plus Rs2.45 per unit) and HP (Rs5.45 per unit)

Earnings hit, take back proposal: BJP

Chandigarh: The Punjab BJP on Thursday flayed the government for proposing a hike in power tariff, saying during the economic slowdown period, this would be a cruel blow to people. General secretary Subhash Sharma said the move would result in serious sufferings to the common man as well as trade and industry which were reeling under the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. He demanded that the proposal be rolled back immediately