Finance dept flags high T&D losses in PSPCL

PSPCL asked to identify high-loss areas and make efforts to bring down the same immediately

CHANDIGARH : The Punjab finance department has flagged the issue of high electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) losses with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), which it says have gone up to 27%, particularly in supply feeders of rural areas.

In a communiqué to PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director A Venu Prasad, principal secretary (finance) KAP Sinha said, “Several divisions such as Bhikhiwind (73%) and Patti (61%) have really high distribution losses. There are as many as seven divisions with losses ranging from 40-50%. How can a utility can surviving with such heavy losses?”

Sinha asked the PSPCL to identify high-loss areas and emphasised on efforts to bring down the same immediately. “The losses of feeders in rural belt may be brought down to 15% and that for urban feeders from 10-15%,” he said. The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) had flagged the issue a number of times that PSPCL mixes T&D losses with agriculture pumpsets consumption for which the state government pays. The finance department’s communication comes nearly a fortnight after the PSPCL sought funds against free power to agriculture tubewells and other sections.

‘Cost of power from RE generators high’

It also pointed out that the cost of purchase of power from renewable energy (RE) generators in the state is high as compared to the cost of RE purchase from the Solar Corporation of India at ₹2.83 per unit. Punjab is buying 2,100 million units of electricity from RE generators of state worth Rs 1,368 crore at a rate of Rs 6.55 per unit and several power purchase agreements have been signed at rates as high as Rs 17 to 18 per unit, it said. Also, the power department was asked to bring down the level of average pooled cost of power at ₹4.50 per unit as worked out by the PSERC for 2020-21. KAP Sinha as well as A Venu Prasad were not available for comments.