Punjab Govt clears Rs 20K crore subsidy bill of PSPCL

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 6

In a major relief to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the state government has cleared the entire subsidy bill for the fiscal year. The total subsidy bill for the PSPCL for 2022-23 stood at a staggering Rs 20,200 crore.

At the start of the fiscal, the subsidy amount due to the PSPCL was estimated at

Rs 15,845.63 crore, but it was revised in February to Rs 18,396 crore, after the announcement of 300 units of free power to domestic consumers.

In its first year, the AAP government also had to carry forward Rs 9,020 crore of unpaid subsidy from previous years. The government had decided to clear this legacy amount in five equal instalments of Rs 1,804 crore. By paying the first instalment, the government has cleared the total subsidy for last financial year amounting to Rs 20,200 crore.

As per the official records, the government made a payment of Rs 9,063.79 crore for agricultural pump sets, Rs 8,225.90 crore for domestic consumers, and Rs 2,910.31 crore for the industry, along with the first instalment of Rs 1804 crore from the legacy amount.

Earlier, the government used to make book adjustments of the electricity duty and infrastructure development fund collected by the PSPCL on behalf of the state government against the subsidy bill. However, this time the government has actually transferred the amount, and the electricity duty of Rs 2,874.37 crore and infrastructure development fund of Rs 1,052.94 crore have not been adjusted against the subsidy bill.

The subsidy bill of the state varied from Rs 4,951 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11,271 crore in 2020-21 (including arrears). The subsidy increased consistently from 2012-13 to 2015-16, peaking at Rs 6,324 crore in 2013-14. The amount then increased from 2017-18 to 2020-21, with the highest being Rs 11,271 crore in 2020-21.

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