Relief for people amid COVID-19 as PSERC cuts power tariff in Punjab

CM Captain Amarinder Singh said that there is a massive cut, ranging from 50 paise to Rs 1 per unit in domestic power tariff by PSERC

Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday said that the people of Punjab will be relieved amid the pandemic of COVID-19 with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) cutting power tariffs in the state for the second consecutive year.

The Chief Minister said that there is a massive cut, ranging from 50 paise to Rs 1 per unit in domestic power tariff by PSERC.

“It will provide major relief to domestic consumers, who are already reeling under financial problems due to COVID pandemic,” he added.

The state’s electricity rate for home usage has been decreased for the second year in a row. Domestic electricity costs were also reduced by 50 paise per unit by the regulator in 2020.

“While pointing out that the decision of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to reduce the domestic power tariff would bring relief to the tune of Rs. 682 Crore for 69 lakh domestic consumers in the state, the Chief Minister also hailed the decision of the regulator not to increase tariff for commercial consumers as well as small and medium industry amid the Covid pandemic,” a press statement issued in this connection said.

Amarinder Singh pointed out that even the increase in tariff for industrial users was minor, and that this would be a relief to industry, which had been badly damaged by the lockdowns and demand crises as a result of the extraordinary contagion of COVID-19.

In the current scenario, when shopkeepers in the NRS category have been severely hit by the shutdown, the Chief Minister praised the PSERC’s decision not to raise the electricity rate. He stated that the same was true for industrial users in the Small Power (SP) and Medium Supply (MS) categories.

During 2017-21, the government provided a total industrial electricity subsidy of Rs 4911 crore, with about 42,000 Medium and Large Industrial users and 1,04,000 Small Industrial consumers benefiting. The state government would grant a subsidy to industry in the amount of Rs 1900 crore in FY 2021-22.

The Chief Minister reaffirmed his government’s commitment, as stated in the Punjab Congress’s 2017 election manifesto, to provide a continuous supply of affordable power to all sectors of the Indian economy, including domestic consumers, trade, business, and industry, and expressed hope that rates would be further reduced in the future.