CHANDIGARH: The AAP led Punjab government faces an additional financial burdern of Rs 2,550 crore per year due to the 300 units of pwer subsidy being given to domestic consumers.
The total electricity subsidy bill stands at Rs 27,420 crore as the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has revised its subsidy estimates for the year 2022-23.
Earlier, the total subsidy due to PSPCL was Rs 24,865.63 crore which included subsidy estimate of Rs 15,845.63 crore.
Now, the estimated subsidy has been increased by Rs 4,354.37 crore and now stands at Rs 18,396 crore for financial year 2022-23 in view of the free power of 300 units.
The revised amount includes Rs 2,550 crore against freebies. It is to be mentioned that recently the state government had decided to clear the carry forward of Rs 9,020 crore in five equal installments to the power utility.
A sum of Rs 1,804 crore is the amount of carry forward that the government will pay to the PSPCL this year, said sources.
Sources in the PSPCLsaid, the state government has paid a sum of Rs 13,971.19 crore in cash and made book adjustments of Rs 3,527.45 crore against the infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) and Electricity Duty (ED) collected by PSPCL from power consumers on behalf of the state government till February 2.
The PSPCL has stated that Rs 18,252.18 crore was to be paid in advance before February 15. The remaining amount from is to be cleared by March 31.
It is worth mentioning that the revised subsidies are only an estimated cost of free power, and the actual cost might be more in view of over 90 per cent power consumers receiving zero power bills during the winter season. The government has assured the public that it will do everything in its power to fulfill its promise of providing free power to domestic consumers.
Talking to TNIE, Jasvir Singh Dhiman President, PSEB Engineers Association said, "The PSPCL is running in red so the government should pay the subsidy amount on time and also the government departments should clear their ending electricity bills which is around Rs 2,600 crore thus the financial condition of the corporation remains intact.’’