Rana Gurjit does a Uturn, rules out power tariff hike

A day after he said the government cannot ignore the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) recommendations, irrigation and power minister Rana Gurjit Singh on Tuesday did a U-turn ruling any hike in the power tariff.

In a statement issued today, the minister said: “There was no question of going back on the Congress poll promise of providing affordable power in the state, and added that his comments had been misconstrued.”

The minister pointed out that his remarks referring to the power regulator were made in the light of the commission’s recommendations on power pricing but he had, at no point in time, suggested a hike in the cost of power in the state in violation of his party’s election promise.

“The job of the power regulator is to make its recommendations based on its own understanding of the sectoral requirements, but the government will take decision based the promises made in the poll manifesto and keeping in view the interest of the people,” he added.

The manifesto clearly states that the Congress government will ensure 24X7 power supply at affordable tariff to all sectors of the state.

The government is currently considering the industry’s demand for power at ₹5 per unit, the minister pointed out, adding that “we are committed to providing affordable power to the industry and other sections of the state, besides continuing with free power to farmers.”HTC