Power users told to pay in advance
Only for large industry, claims PSPCL
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 20
A cash-starved Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is now trying to generate revenue by seeking advanced consumption deposits (ACD) from its consumers even as it has failed to compensate them for charging enhanced rates which were rolled back later with retrospective effect.

Both domestic and industrial consumers have started receiving demands for deposition of ACD. The PSPCL has taken a decision to charge domestic consumers two and a half times their average two-month bill and industrial units one and a half times their average one-month bill.

The move is being seen as a step to bridge the revenue gap after the State Electricity Regulatory Commission allowed PSPCL an additional tariff compensation of only Rs 2,651 crore against Rs 9,656 crore demanded by it.

This will have a telling effect on domestic consumers, particularly the poor who are getting 100 units of power free per month but are now receiving demands for a security deposit of around Rs 3,000.

Congress legislator Sunil Jakhar, who has filed a PIL on the issue, claimed PSPCL was passing on its inefficiency to the people.

Jakhar said PSPCL aimed to collect Rs 1,304 crore through this scheme, which was no more than backdoor taxation. He claimed this was being done as banks were now refusing loans to the electricity utility.

Jakhar claimed that the government was responsible to this state of affairs. He said despite claiming that the state was flush with funds for development, the government had not taken on the liability of the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) after it was split into two corporations in June last year.

Jakhar also claimed that consumers who had paid nearly Rs 1,600 crore in enhanced bills for one and a half years had only been partially adjusted for the same till now despite the rollback in the power tariff hike.

PSPCL Director Distribution Anil Verma said the Electricity Regulatory Commission had approved the levying of ACD last year. He said though notices had been issued to all consumers as per an “old circular”, the charges were presently being levied on large industrial units only.

Verma said no decision had been taken on levying ACD charges on domestic and small and medium industrial units.

He said PSPCL would give 12 per cent interest of all money collected in advance under this scheme and that the deposit would be reviewed every year on the basis of the previous years’ average consumption.

Farmers cry foul too
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 20
Chairman-cum-managing director of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) KD Chaudhri today rubbished the claims made by some of the farmers’ associations that the notification for the restoration of the free power, being given to the agricultural tubewells, has not been issued.

Chaudhri said one of the farmers’ unions today met him and stated that notification under question has not been issued. “This is absolutely wrong. The notification has already been issued and the PSPCL was not asking the agricultural consumers to pay the power bill of Rs 50 per brake horsepower (Brake Horsepower is capacity of the motor of the agricultural tubewell) per month,” said Chaudhri.

Notably, the Sukhbir-Kalia committee had recommended Rs 50 BHP to be collected on biannual basis for power supply to farm sector last year. It was also stated that the actual power would be reimbursed as productivity bonus in recognition of the farmers’ contribution to the national foodgrains pool.

However, during the end 2010, the state government had made an announcement to restore the free power being given to the agricultural tubewells. The government had announced that practice of levying the Rs 50 BHP per month being billed to farmers would discontinue.

Interestingly, leaders of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, claimed that government was yet to issue a notification and they were facing harassment as the PSPCL was issuing the power bills to them. “We have urged the PSPCL CMD to get the notification issued so that the practice of levying Rs 50 BHP to agricultural tubewells should be discontinued,” claimed committee president Satnam Singh Pannu after meeting Chaudhri.

Chaudhri said he has categorically told the delegation that the notification under question has already been issued. “We had not even asked the agricultural power consumers to deposit the bills at the rate of Rs 50 BHP to agricultural tubewells, before the announcement of restoration of the free power made by the state government,” added CMD.

No connection for tubewell even after 21 years!
Power corporation fined Rs 25,000
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Barnala, May 20
Taking note of the inability of Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) to provide a power connection for a tubewell to an applicant, the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Barnala, has slapped a compensation of Rs 25,000 on the corporation.

Dharampal of Sekha village had filed a complaint before the forum that his grandfather had applied for the connection on February 21, 1990. Seventeen years later, the power corporation had asked his father, through a demand notice, to deposit Rs 29,705 which he did so on March 14, 2007.

The complainant said that even after the passage of four years, PSPCL had failed to provide the connection after which he approached the redressal forum.

The forum ordered the PSPCL to pay 9 per cent interest on the Rs 29705 from March 14, 2007, till the installation of the connection. In addition, it ordered PSPCL to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and also directed the power corporation to recover it from the erring officials in the department.

Snail’s pace

* Application filed on February 21, 1990

* Rs 29,705 deposited on March 14, 2007