Industrialists protest PSPCL proposal for 10% hike in tariff

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 5

After Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) filed a petition with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to hike power tariff by 10 per cent, the entrepreneurs of Amritsar, Batala and Goindwal Sahib today pleaded for not accepting the demand.

Kamal Dalmia, patron-in-chief of the Focal Point Industrial Welfare Association, said the PSPCL had hiked power tariff by 10 per cent in April 2023. He stated that a hike of 10 per cent every year would increase the cost of inputs used in manufacturing of goods. He said the industry was already passing through a tough phase while competing with neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Haryana where they were getting power supply at much cheaper rates. Dalmia suggested that in order to enhance the productive capability of the PSPCL, the government must introduce a couple of more supply companies. Citing the instance of Delhi and Maharashtra, he said competition in power supply firms can help improve the capability of power utilities in these two states.

Sundeep Khosla, president, Focal Point Industrial Welfare Association, Bal Kalan Industrial Area, said when the government was claiming that the PSPCL was now a profit generating utility by reducing power thefts and getting coal at low price from its mines for thermal power plants, then where was the need to hike the power tariff.

Different industries associations submitted their charter of demands to the PSERC, headed by its Chairman Vishwajeet Khanna.

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