Around 10,280 industrial consumers across Ludhiana have defaulted on their electricity bills, collectively owing over ₹40 crore to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) as of October 2024, unveils a data provided by PSPCL officials.
Among the defaulters, the PSPCL east circle has the largest pending amount with industrialists owing ₹20 crore. The west circle follows with a total of ₹15.97 crore while the Khanna circle’s dues stand at ₹3.11 crore, and the suburban circle has a balance of ₹1.24 crore.
In terms of the number of defaulters, the west circle leads with 4,761 industrial units, followed by the east circle with 4,070 defaulters. The Khanna and suburban circles have 822 and 627 industrial defaulters, respectively.
A PSPCL official from the central zone remarked that industrial units are a crucial source of revenue for the corporation. However, the growing pendency of dues is causing significant financial strain on the corporation, he said.
The official stressed that the delays in payments are severely affecting the power utility’s operations and collections, especially at a time coinciding with the peak season for key industries of the city like hosiery and textiles which rely heavily on uninterrupted service.
{{/usCountry}}The official stressed that the delays in payments are severely affecting the power utility’s operations and collections, especially at a time coinciding with the peak season for key industries of the city like hosiery and textiles which rely heavily on uninterrupted service.
{{/usCountry}}Acknowledging this issue, Jagdev Singh Hans, chief engineer of the PSPCL’s central zone, said, “We are making efforts to recover these pending dues without interrupting the power supply to these industries.”
Hans urged industrialists to take advantage of the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme to clear their outstanding bills with ease and convenience. The scheme will end on December 22.
In June this year, the state government had hiked the power tariff to 15 paise for industries across Punjab.