Govt fails to make full payment to PSPCL for 3rd year in row

PATIALA: The aggregated power subsidy bill of the Punjab government is going to rise further in the next fiscal year as the state continues to default on subsidy payment to the PSPCL for the third consecutive year.

This time the default has touched a whopping ₹5,300 crore. Against the power subsidy bill of ₹13,718 crore for the current fiscal decided by the PSERC, the state has managed to pay ₹8,381 crore, leaving a gap of ₹5,336 crore.

Out of the paid amount, ₹6,290 crore were paid in cash, and the remaining ₹2,000 crore were book adjustments in lieu of interests of Uday Bonds and infrastructure development fee.

“Overall, the government has paid us more than the previous years. A total of ₹8,381 crore has been received and nearly ₹300 to ₹500 crore will also come in the next few days. However, the default has still increased to ₹5,300 crore,” said a PSPCL official, seeking anonymity.

He said CMD Baldev Singh

Sran has repeatedly taken up the matter with the finance department, but the issue is yet to be resolved. In fact, the arrears of last three fiscals, which amounted to ₹4,964 crore, had put the state government and subsequently the PSPCL under a financial stress.

The Punjab government is giving free electricity to agricultural tubewells, 200 units of free power to SC families and weaker sections of society, besides giving subsidised electricity at ₹5 per unit to industry, to meet political promises made by respective governments to tap vote banks.

Last year, the PSERC had taken strong notice of the default of subsidy amount by the Punjab government.

The power regulator had even

given liberty to PSPCL to discontinue free supply if the state government fails to comply with the order. However, the PSPCL never challenges the government on this account as the power subsidy is a political issue in the state. Every year, the default amount is passed to the next fiscal. If ₹5,300-crore arrear of this year is passed to the next year, the power subsidy bill will be approximately Rs 14,500 crore.

The PSPCL has projected power subsidy bill to ₹9,073 crore for next fiscal. This means the monthly installment to be made by the government will be approximately ₹1,200 crore.

Despite repeated attempts, state finance secretary Anirudh Tiwari could not be contacted for his comments on the issue.