PSPCL cites ~5,100-cr revenue deficit, seeks 20% tariff hike

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 11

Consumers in “power-surplus” Punjab could be in for a shock in case the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) gives a nod to the 2016-17 annual revenue requirement (ARR) finalised by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.

However the hike can only come into effect once the power regulator, PSERC, which had ordered to reduce tariff for this fiscal, approves it.

The state government’s ambitious plan to “lower power rates” to invite industry and please residents in the state notwithstanding, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is all set to submit an annual revenue requirement (ARR) to the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) for 2016-17, seeking 18 to 20 per cent hike in power tariff to meet the Rs 5,100-crore revenue gap.

PSPCL senior officers said the ARR had shown a gap of around Rs 5,100 crore for the next fiscal, which meant a tariff hike of around 20 per cent to meet the gap. “This amount of Rs 5,100 crore is calculated for the next fiscal based on the collections and power supplied this fiscal,” they said. The inability to sell surplus power was one of the major reasons for seeking such a steep hike, they said.

Earlier this year, consumers were spared a hike in power tariff as the PSERC announced a minor reduction in tariff for various categories of consumers for 2015-16. It was after a gap of eight years that no power tariff hike was announced, mainly because the revenue gap worked out by the PSERC was just Rs 45.98 crore.

The fresh ARR mentions that the power subsidy for the agriculture sector and the Below Poverty Line sector will jump from the existing Rs 6,000 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 6,500 crores in 2016-17. “If all pending tubewells are released within the coming fiscal, the subsidy burden will further swell by another Rs 600 crore,” said a senior official.

In the ARR for 2016-17, the PSPCL has claimed Rs 730 crore from the PSERC.