Punjab Newsline
PSERC petitioned to direct Punjab for enhance budgetary provision for subsidy
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
Thursday, 17 December 2009
CHANDIGARH: Gurnek Brar a retired PSEB Engineer has filed a petition before the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) that the Commission should issue instructions to the Punjab Government to enhance the budgetary provision for subsidy on power.

He has pleaded to enhance the allocation from the present Rs 2600 crore to Rs 3530 crore and make timely and full payment of subsidy to PSEB.

The regulatory commission has already ruled that Punjab Government is defaulting in making timely payment of subsidy in full to Punjab State Electricity Board.

Brar said that in the absence of increased budgetary allocation for subsidy payment to PSEB the state government is giving monthly installment on the basis of sanctioned state budget It may be mentioned that the commission had decided that the Government will henceforth make advance payment of subsidy to the Board in equal monthly installments at the beginning of each month instead of advance quarterly installments. For the current year, the monthly installment will be worked out after adjustment of subsidy actually paid up to August, 2009.

Brar in his petition has contended that the state government is required to pay a subsidy payment of Rs. 294.59 crore from September onwards to comply with the commission’s direction.

The information regarding subsidy payment to PSEB collected under RTI shows that the Punjab Government made a payment of Rs 216.59 crore for the month of September thereby resulting in an underpayment of Rs 77.76 crore. For October as against the subsidy payment due of Rs 294.35 crore, government has paid only Rs 108.29 crore and that too in November.

Over and above the default in advance payment of subsidy, there has been an even more serious default of under payment in subsidy which has accumulated to Rs 558.17 crore for the period Sep-09 up to November 25 as per information received under RTI.

It may be mentioned that the Chief Secretary Punjab had conveyed to PSEB on September 2 that the state Govt. feels that the tariff for AP category should remain at the same level as in 2008-09. In case tariff for AP consumers is to be increased, such an increase may not be more than the average increase in tariff for other categories .further, the state Govt. in keeping with the existing policy of providing subsidy to AP sector, SC and non-SC BPL domestic consumers, agrees.

There is no mention of enhancing budgetary allocation for the subsidy to be given to PSEB in case of revision of tariff and increase in numbers