No change in electricity tariff, power subsidy to continue
THE PSERC PASSED TARIFF ORDERS ON BASIS OF AGGREGATE REVENUE REQUIREMENT FILED BY PSPCL AND PUNJAB STATE TRANSMISSION CORP LIMITED
PATIALA: In a relief to consumers, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission on Thursday retained the current power tariff following the state government’s decision to continue with the same, including subsidies, underlining that sustainability for all sectors has been kept in mind along with the revenue requirement of the utility.
A Venu Prasad, principal secretary to chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that the Punjab government has decided to continue the additional subsidy for load upto 7 Kilowatt. The previous government had announced this subsidy on November 1, 2021. He said that the government has already informed the PSERC about it. The government has decided not to burden the consumers, and continue with the same tariff including the subsidies, which is presently going on including for domestic and agriculture sector consumers.
As per the announcement of the previous Congress government, for up to 100 units of consumption (up to 2 kw), the power tariff will drop to Rs 1.19 per unit from Rs 4.19 per unit and for 101-300 units, the tariff will be Rs 4.01 and for above 300 units, the power rate will be Rs 5.76 per unit.
The PSERC passed the tariff orders on Thursday on basis of Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) filed by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) for FY 2022-23 along with the tariff/charges applicable for FY 2022-23.
For FY 2022-23, the Commission has determined the ARR of PSPCL at Rs. 36237.65 crores which includes ARR for PSTCL of Rs. 1492.56 crores to be recovered through tariff.
The net revenue expected from the announced tariff is Rs. 36149.60 crores after adjusting the net surplus carried forward to the current year. The balance gap of Rs. 88.05 crores is being carried forward to be adjusted at the time of determination of tariff for FY 2023-24.
In its orders, the commission said it is conscious of the interest of the consumers which is balanced against the revenue requirement of the utility, keeping in mind its operational efficiency, commitments and growth. The commission is also conscious of the fact that the state and the country are emerging out of two years of COVID-19 pandemic’s impact which has resulted in substantial economic distress.
Thus, sustainability for all sectors particularly the economically weaker sector, agriculture, commercial undertakings and the industry, which are the largest consumer sector employing the maximum work force, has been kept in mind while also addressing the revenue requirement of the utility, it said.
The commission has endeavoured to arrive at a viable revenue model for the utilities without imposing any extra burden on the consumers, the orders said.