Power subsidy: Govt yet to pay PSPCL Rs3,792 cr
Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, January 3
The cash-strapped Punjab government is finding it difficult to clear the pending subsidy of roughly Rs 3,700 crore that it has to pay to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). With the rising expenditures against power subsidy and the government’s failure to regularly clear pending power subsidy, PSPCL is in a tight spot.
As per the budget proposal, the subsidy amount is Rs 10,252 crore for 2017-18. Going by this, the subsidy due as per sanction up to January 2018 is Rs 9097.83 crore, while the net outstanding is Rs 3791.89 crore. Which means by the end of this fiscal (March 31), the government will have to clear Rs 4,947 crore for power supplied under subsidy.
The subsidy bill can swell further if Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s populist announcement of providing electricity at Rs 5 per unit to all consumers (domestic, commercial and industry) in Punjab is put in place.
The government had recently released instalments after it had agreed to pay Rs 650 crore per month, starting April, to clear the pending bill. But since the government paid much less than the promised amount, the monthly subsidy bill has risen to around Rs 900 crore from Rs 650 crore fixed earlier. In 2016-17 the monthly subsidy figure was Rs 633.17 crore.
“The debt-ridden PSPCL needs funds to pay salaries and clear pension of its employees in addition to buying and arranging for additional power for the next paddy season. PSPCL is already under a debt of over Rs 25,500 crore and is managing its affairs by taking loans,” said a former chief engineer with the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board.
A PSPCL official said, “To meet the high power demand, the PSPCL has to buy 1,200 to 1,600 MW of power from outside sources and will need to utilise all its resources to foot the bill. Given the current situation, the PSPCL will have to take loans to pay salaries.”
Chief Managing Director, PSPCL, A Venu Prasad confirmed that pending subsidy bill was there, but said it would be cleared soon and PSPCL was running smoothly. “The government has already cleared Rs 5,300 crore of pending subsidy and we will soon receive the pending amount,” he stated.
In a spot
- With the rising expenditures against power subsidy and the government's failure to regularly clear pending power subsidy, PSPCL is in a tight spot.
- The subsidy bill can swell further if Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh's populist announcement of providing electricity at Rs 5 per unit to all consumers (domestic, commercial and industry) in Punjab is put in place.
