Bleeding PSPCL dry: Over ₹238-crore power bills pending in Ludhiana district

Breaking down the official data of defaulters by category, domestic consumers lead the list with 18.8 lakh accounts, followed by commercial consumers (73,689) and industrial consumers (9,264)

Over 27.12 lakh consumers across Ludhiana district have defaulted on their regular electricity bills mount ₹238.9 crore to the central zone of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) as of August. These mounting arrears are bleeding the state utility’s finances dry, raising concerns about the corporation’s ability to maintain infrastructure and ensure reliable power supply, officials familiar with the matter said.

Similarly, the Khanna circle owes ₹27.83 crore and the suburban circle which ensures power supply to the rural belts of the district owes ₹18.26 crore. (HT Photo for representation)

Breaking down the official data of defaulters by category, domestic consumers lead the list with 18.8 lakh accounts, followed by commercial consumers (73,689) and industrial consumers (9,264). Additionally, 168 agriculture consumers have also contributed to the pending dues.

In terms of outstanding amounts, domestic users owe ₹122.95 crore, commercial consumers have unpaid bills worth ₹84.31 crore, and industrial units contribute ₹27.35 crore to the arrears. Bulk supply consumers including hospitals, educational institutions and other large entities owe over ₹3.07 crore, while agriculture related dues stand at ₹31.48 lakh.

West circle tops defaults

Reportedly, the west circle which comprises the posh localities in Ludhiana including Aggar Nagar, Model Town, City West and Janta Nagar, remains the biggest defaulter in the zone, with dues mounting to ₹115.15 crore against 99,899 consumers. Of this, domestic consumers alone owe ₹66.46 crore, followed by ₹38.06 crores from commercial users and ₹5.65 crore from industrial units.

In addition, the east circle accommodating the industrial pockets of Ludhiana including Focal point, Sunder Nagar, Estate, City Centre and CMC divisions reported dues worth ₹77.03 crore across 73,271 defaulting consumers. The bulk of the arrears lie in the domestic and consumer categories, with unpaid bills of ₹29.78 crore and ₹30.84 crore, respectively. The industries across the categories here also owe ₹13.51 crore, adding to the piled up arrears.

Similarly, the Khanna circle owes ₹27.83 crore and the suburban circle which ensures power supply to the rural belts of the district owes ₹18.26 crore.

Explaining the situation, the senior officials of the power department said, “These staggering arrears are putting the department’s finances under serious strain. When such large amounts remain unpaid, it directly hampers our routine operations, from timely power supply to maintenance of existing infrastructure.”

Although, the department regularly conducts campaigns to recover pending dues, including targeted follow ups with defaulting consumers but the scale of defaults continues to be a major challenge for us, they added.

When contacted, chief engineer Jagdev Hans said, “ Taking strict action against these pending electricity bills, we have conducted an extensive checking drive in September to recover these dues. Notices have also been served to all defaulting consumers across categories to ensure timely payment.”