Punjab hikes power tariff by 2.17%; fixed charges also go up

In a two-part plan, thePunjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission has increased the domestic tariff by 10 to 14 paisa per unit and fixed charges by ₹10 per kilowatt.

The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has announced to hike power tariff by 2.17 per cent, apart from increasing fixed electricity charges for the financial year 2018-19 for all categories of consumers.

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In a two-part plan, the regulator has increased the domestic tariff by 10 to 14 paisa per unit and fixed charges by ₹10 per kilowatt (kW). Tariff for industrial units has been increased by 10-13 paisa per unit and fixed charges for the same by ₹10 to 15 per KVA.

The gross revenue requirement has been assessed at ₹32,486 crore and there is a cumulative gap of ₹668.91 crore between revenue receipt and expenditure. The average cost of supply has been pegged at ₹6.55 per unit.

The total amount of balance subsidy is ₹4,768.65 crore and this year’s subsidy amount is ₹8,949.37 crore. Therefore, the Punjab government owes ₹13,718.02 crore total subsidy to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL).

The subsidy amount is to be paid in 12 monthly installments of ₹1,143.17 crore each in advance. As the Punjab government fails to pay the monthly installment of subsidy to PSPCL, PSERC has imposed a 9.36 per cent interest on delayed payment, as PSPCL has to avail of loans whenever the government defaults on subsidy payments.

Out of the total subsidy ( ₹8,949 crore) payable for 2018-19, ₹6,256.09 crore is for free power to farmers, ₹1,107.69 crore for free power to scheduled castes, ₹69.21 crore for free power to non-Dalit BPL (below povery line) families, ₹75.43 crore for backward classes, ₹1,441 crore for industry.

“With 2.17 per cent increase in tariff and hike in fixed charges, the total effective hike is 2.6 per cent,” said a power engineer.

The total power purchase next year is likely to be ₹20,309 crore at a pooled cost of ₹3.96 per unit. To reduce the burden of fixed cost of 20,417 million units of surplus power estimated to be surrendered by PSPCL during the year, the regulator has decided that any consumption exceeding the threshold limit of maximum annual consumption of the last two years by the industry will be billed at reduced energy charges.

Slabs for domestic consumers

In the new tariff order for domestic consumers, the per unit cost of electricity for 100 units has been increased from ₹4.81 to ₹4.91; from ₹6.38 to ₹6.51 for 100 to 300 units and ₹7.12 from 300 to 500 units.

Power usage above 300 units to up to 500 units will cost ₹7.12 (per unit), while usage above 500 units will cost ₹7.33, an increase of 14 paisa (per unit).

The fixed charges for 2kw load have been increased from ₹20 to 25 per kW, ₹25-35 for 2-7 kW and ₹40kW for 7kW-50 KW. Fixed charges will be ₹40kW (earlier ₹30) for load between 7 kW and50 kW. Above this load, ₹70 will be charged as fixed charges for per KW.

For agricultural pumpsets, tariff has been increased from ₹403 per break horse power (BHP) to 411 BHP a month.