Govt depts owe PSPCL Rs 2,324 crore

Though the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) recovered 363 crore in December 2024, several government departments still owe Rs 2,324 crore to the powercom. Of this, four departments owe 91.7% of the total dues, as per data compiled till January 31.

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The Water Supply and Sanitation Department owes Rs 957 crore, Local Government Rs 698 crore, Rural Development and Panchayats Department Rs 340 crore and Health and Family Welfare Rs 107 crore. They collectively owe over Rs 2,100 crore of the total Rs 2,324 crore defaulting amount.

The four other departments, including Sewerage Board (Rs 54 crore), Home Affairs (Rs 23 crore), Public Works (Rs 23 crore) and School Education (Rs 21 crore) owe Rs 121 crore. Power subsidy and delayed payments have made the cash-strapped PSPCL to go for loans to meet expenses.

Top defaulters

• Rs 957 cr Water Supply and Sanitation Department
• Rs 698 cr Local Government Department
• Rs 340 cr Rural Development and Panchayats Department
• Rs 107 cr Health and Family Welfare Department

Last year, the Punjab State Electricity Board Engineers’ Association (PSEBEA) had asked the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to take suo motu notice of the pending payments.

The PSPCL had filed a petition for the introduction of the OTS scheme for all categories of consumers (except agricultural sector), following which the PSERC approved it for three months in 2023. Due to poor response, it was extended time and again. However, the government departments failed to pay up.

The South Zone owes Rs 638 crore, followed by Border Zone Rs 569 crore, West Zone Rs 551 crore, North Zone Rs 368 crore and Central Zone Rs 201 crore for the period ending January 2025.

In December 2024, maximum recovery was made by the West Zone (Rs 102 crore) followed by Border Zone (Rs 96 crore), North Zone (Rs 68 crore), South Zone (Rs 57 crore) and Central Zone (Rs 39 crore), respectively.

“Last year, the PSPCL had taken a loan of Rs 800 crore to meet its statutory financial requirements, mostly due to political compulsions,” said VK Gupta, spokesperson of the All India Power Engineers’ Federation.