Patiala With elections just months away, there is unlikely to be any increase in power tariff in the state, with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) filing its tariff petition for 2022-23 with a projected shortfall of only ₹125 crore that it needs to raise through this route.
The shortfall of previous years that it has been carrying forward is ₹1,611 crore, taking the total to ₹1,912 crore. The annual revenue requirement (ARR) has been worked out at ₹36,484 crore and revenue receipt on the basis of the present approved tariff has been worked out as ₹36,702 crore. With the regulator, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) always, as a matter of convention, reducing the PSPCL’s expenditure, there may not be any power tariff hike, experts say.
Due to the recent poll sops, the subsidy burden on the state government, however, for 2021-22 is estimated at ₹12,245 crore and for 2022-23, at ₹13,929 crore. Initially, the figure for 2021-22 was ₹10,621 crore but the current announcements by government have resulted in an additional burden of ₹1,624 crore.
