CICU condemns proposal of PSPCL & PSTCL for seeking hike in power tariff for FY 2015-16

Ludhiana, February 3, 2015: Avtar Singh, President, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), Ludhiana in a statement released today said that the proposal of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited for seeking hike in power tariff for financial year 2015-16 submitted to Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission is uncalled for which will have negative impact on the industry as the cost of production will go up subsequently and lead the industry uncompetitive. Besides inconvenience to power consumers, the hike in power tariff will be burdening industrial and domestic sectors at the cost of providing free electricity to agricultural sector.

Hiking power tariff almost every half yearly to provide free electricity to agricultural sector cannot be justified as MSMEs are also reeling under adverse economic scenario. All policies framed by PSPCL are anti industry and the industrialists of Punjab are being supplied power at exorbitant rate as compared with all other Northern States. One cannot hope that any new industry will come up in the State due to repeated hike in power tariff.

Public hearings on the petitions for aggregate revenue requirement and determination of new Power Tariff filed by PSPCL and PSTCL for F.Y. 2015-16 at Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Chandigarh are being held from February 2 to 12, 2015 by PSERC. Holding these hearings with Industrial, Agricultural and Domestic consumers & their Associations for presenting views/suggestions on the aforesaid matters is just an eye wash as not a single suggestion had ever been considered against the hike by PSERC.

He further informed that in the last four financial years, the power regulator has allowed for a hike that had added Rs. 6550 Crore in the corporation’s kitty. Comparatively in eight years before 2010 the total hike allowed was Rs. 3125 Crore. He further said the figures proved that PSPCL’s efficiency had hardly improved.

Upkar Singh Ahuja General Secretary said that losses of PSPCL & PSTCL are mainly attributable to deficiencies in financial management, planning, implementation of projects, running their operations and monitoring and losses can be minimized or eliminated with better management. He has requested and urged upon Chairperson, PSERC not to grant permission to PSPCL for hike in power tariff which is bound to fuel inflation and prices northward, so as to save the Punjab industry from disaster and further exodus to adjoining states having pro industrial policies.

He has further requested the Chairperson, PSERC to advise Chairman PSPCL & PSTCL to adopt various technical measures and innovative initiatives to reduce distribution and transmission losses, transit losses of coal, menace of power theft and enhancing efficiency of workers by pruning access staff.

Punjab is land locked state and without any mineral wealth. If the MSMEs which are already reeling under tuff phase, go unviable, the economy of the State will be ruined. CICU requests and urges upon Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal holding charge of Power Ministry to advise Chairperson PSERC not to grant approval for the proposal of PSPCL & PSTCL for seeking hike In Power Tariff so as to encourage investments from other States in Punjab and to boost existing industry.