Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune press service
Chandigarh, May 28
The Punjab is ready to give relief to the common man in the new electricity tariff order, which will be announced on Friday.
Domestic consumers are expected to benefit from 20-25% tariff relief, while industrial and commercial users can expect the tariff to remain unchanged.
The new tariff decree, which will be announced by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC), will come into force retroactive to April 1.
A final formal meeting of the commission, chaired by its new chairman, Vishwajit Khanna, is due to take place now, after which the tariff order will be announced.
The tariff for domestic consumers varies between Rs 4.49 and Rs 7.30 per unit, for industrial consumers between Rs 5.98 and Rs 6.41 per unit and for commercial consumers between Rs 6 and Rs 7.29 per unit. unit. Last year, due to the pandemic, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) reduced the tariff for domestic consumers consuming up to 300 units of 25 paisa to 50 paisa per unit. and the tariff for small traders and industry had remained unchanged.
However, this year, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) initially proposed a tariff hike of more than eight percent of its annual revenue requirement (ARR) sent to the electricity regulator in December 2020. But being a election year and the high electricity tariffs are expected to be a major poll issue, the power utility apparently under pressure from the government later sent out a revised ARR, asking the regulator to reduce the rate.
