PSEB outsources billing, surveillance work
Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 6
The Punjab Government has silently started what may be interpreted as the “unbundling” of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to meet the December 15 deadline.

In the initial phase, the board has outsourced billing and surveillance work to two private companies in 30 out of the 104 divisions. “The task of these companies is limited to inspecting the electricity meters on the premises of a consumer and issue an on- the-spot bill based on the meter reading”, an official of the PSEB said.

The board is further contemplating handing over more work to private companies in a phased manner to avoid any confrontation with the employees who are opposing the “unbundling”. The two companies entrusted with the task of billing are Hyderabad-based CS Systems and KLG, a Gurgaon based company.

The Union Power Ministry had asked the state government to divide the monolith power board into separate legal entities for generation, distribution and transmission functions. It is now mandatory under the National Electricity Act, 2003, for all states to unbundle power boards.

Punjab is one of the few states been resisting this, mainly “under pressure from employees” of the PSEB, supported by farmers.

In September, the state capital witnessed a massive rally and rampage by a large number of people protesting against unbundling, which is aimed at encouraging competition among various departments of the board to improve functioning.

Experts feel that the PSEB, which is in a heavy debt, only be revived through the process of unbundling. The state government is in no position to bail out the PSEB owing to its own precarious financial health.

In fact, the state government has failed to give the PSEB the full subsidy component towards electricity being supplied to the farm sector for the months of September and October.

Punjab pays a monthly instalment of Rs 294 crore to the PSEB towards subsidy. On account of Punjab’s failure to pay the PSEB, the board has in turn failed to pay the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) a sum of Rs 142 crore towards power purchased by the board in September.

In fact, a former employee of the PSEB has filed a petition before the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking timely release of subsidy amount due to the PSEB by the state government.

The government has been asked by the commission to pay a subsidy of Rs 3144.25 crore for 2009-10 payable by the government for free supply to a section of consumers. The government has already paid an amount of Rs 1083.83 crore to the PSEB towards the subsidy amount from April to August.

The government is in a fix over the issue of unbundling, especially in view of the fact that the same is being opposed by the employees with the “support” of farmers -considered to be the vote bank of the ruling SAD.

But at the same time, the government is unlikely to receive another extension for the purpose beyond the December 15 deadline, hence its desperation to look for a way out.