Chandigarh, September 19
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission today issued an order hiking the power tariff for various categories of consumers ranging from 19 to 30 paise per unit. In the case of power supply to the Railways, the increase is 31 paise per unit only.

Though the tariff has been increased from April 1, it will be enforced from September 1. The average increase for the whole year is 4.90 per cent. However, as the tariff is to be recovered in the remaining seven months, after annulisation it will become 8.4 per cent. The tariff has been raised after a gap of almost two years and that too by taking a suo moto initiative by the commission because the PSEB had not filed the petition to raise the tariff to meet its enhanced annual revenue requirement( ARR).

The commission has worked out a revenue gap of Rs 423.78 crore that the PSEB has been allowed to recover by way of increased power tariff from the consumers, including the state government in case of farmers who are provided power free of cost. The state government foots the bill of farmers by way of subsidy.

The PSEB had projected the revenue gap of Rs 2423.11 crore for the current fiscal year. However, the commission worked it out to Rs 87.21 crore and after a tune-up exercise for 2005-06 and 2006-07, it worked out the total revenue gap of Rs 423.78 crore.

The net subsidy committed to be paid by the state government to the PSEB in lieu of providing free power to farmers and certain poor sections of the society during the current fiscal year is Rs 2,548.73 crore. It includes Rs 1981.15 crore for the farm sector for the current fiscal year, Rs 130.95 crore of the Scheduled Caste and non-SC BPL category power consumers and arrears of Rs 429.63 crore of the subsidy for the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 apart from Rs 7 crore as rental and service charges of meters installed at the tubewells of certain farmers.

In domestic sector, power tariff for the consumers falling in a category consuming up to 100 units has been increased by 19 paise per unit, raising it from 221 paise to 240 paise per unit. For consumers using power up to 300 units, tariff has been hiked by 26 paise. It has been raised from 368 paise to 394 paise and for above 300 units, it has been raised by 27 paise. It has been increased from 389 paise to 416 paise. For street light, tariff has been raised from 423 paise to 453 paise.

Domestic consumers belonging to the SC category with a connected load up to 1000 watts will get 200 units free and the government will foot the bill in the form of subsidy.

The combined average cost of the supply of power worked out by the commission for the year is 343.99 paise whereas last year it was 329.94 paise.

For the agriculture sector tariff has been raised from 214 paise per unit to 240 paise. However as the government pays for the farm sector there will be no financial burden on farmers.

For small industry, tariff has been increased by 24 paise per unit raising it from 337 paise to 361 paise. For medium scale, large scale, general category industry and arc furnances it has been raised by 26 paise per unit. It has been raised from 372 paise to 398 paise per unit. For bulk supply consumers, tariff rates have been increased by 28 paise per unit. For season industry like cotton ginning units, rice shllers etc, power hike is in the range of 24 paise to 26 paise during their operation season and 28 paise to 30 paise per unit during the off season. Increase for the ice factories also ranges from 24 paise to 26 paise.

For the Golden Temple as well as the Durgiana Temple at Amritsar, power will be free up to 2000 units and above it, charges will be 322 paise per unit.

Sources said a detailed discussion on the new tariff order was held at the Punjab Cabinet meeting here today.