M A I N   N E W S

Power tariff to go up in Punjab
Naveen S Garewal/TNS

Chandigarh, May 9
As the SAD-BJP Government struggles to keep afloat after being bombarded with charges of corruption, the anti-government sentiment is set to rise with the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) announcing a power hike today.

All categories of consumers will have to shell out about 45 paise per unit, an across the board hike of over 9 per cent. This second highest hike in four years of the SAD-BJP government comes when the state is preparing for elections scheduled for early next year.

The average increase in power is 37 paise, while an additional cess of 8 paise has been imposed due to hike in fuel charges. The PSERC has said that this 8 paise hike will be reviewed after the first quarter, but chances that it will be withdrawn are thin, considering the fact that another hike in fuel charges is on the anvil.

Farmers that comprise the SAD vote bank, will have to pay an additional Rs 5 per BHP per month for unmetered agricultural pump-sets. PSERC Chairperson Romila Dubey told media persons that the average hike, across the board, worked out at 9.19 per cent.

“All categories pay an additional 37 paise per unit, except the small power users and second slab domestic supply (DS). Their increase will be 33 paise per unit and 36 paise per unit, respectively. It became essential to hike the tariff by 18.37 per cent to meet the revenue gap of Rs 2,651.51 crore. But since, we did not want to burden the consumers, we decided on a lower hike”, she said.

With the hike in power tariff, the industry in Punjab, that has been struggling to survive, will have to pay between 7.97 to 8.08 per cent more. The agriculture consumers will have to pay 11.56 per cent more, which comes to 357 paise per unit or Rs 299 per BHP per month. In addition, the government will also pay a tariff of 547 paise per unit for public lighting.

The hike for domestic consumers ranges between 7.13 to 11.90 per cent. This in real number terms means that the domestic tariff will now be 348 paise per unit on consumption of first 100 units, 488 paise per unit for the next 200 units and 515 paise per unit on consumption of more than 300 units per month.