Calling for “immediate corrective and timely actions”, Punjab power engineers have warned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led State Government that the state may face in power shortage or blackouts during the upcoming paddy season across the State. They have attributed the same to the Punjab power corporation’s precarious financial situation, state’s mounting subsidy bill, widening expenditure gap, no increase in power generation, and the Government’s “costly indecisions”.

The PSEB Engineers’ Association, in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday, stated that the upcoming paddy season “is going to be challenging for the power sector due to “costly indecisions” attributable only to the Punjab Government. The power demand is expected to exceed 15000 MW, with dwindling finances and no increase in power generation in the state sector, ordinary consumers will face power interruptions and blackouts if immediate corrective and timely actions are not taken by the Punjab Government.”

The Association pointed out that that the financial position of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has been steadily deteriorating, particularly due to non-payment of subsidy by the Punjab Government, and defaulting payments by various State Government departments.  “Punjab Government’s annual power subsidy bill in this financial year is expected to cross Rs 19,000 crore in 2022-23, which includes free and subsidized power to industries, agriculture, and domestic consumers, that too without considering the backlog subsidy payment of Rs 9,020 crores,” stated the letter.

The letter pointed put that the payments against waiver of defaulting amount by the Punjab Government for about Rs 1,555 crore is pending for almost one year and due to non-payment of electricity bills by the Punjab Government departments, the default towards Punjab Government has exceeded Rs 2,600 crore.

Stating that Punjab’s power sector is heading towards a “man-made financial and power crisis”, The Association stated that concerned government authorities have deliberately underestimated the expenditure on power subsidy by almost Rs 7,000 crore. “Now, with no budget provision for this big gap in expenditure, PSPCL is being forced to arrange funds on its own by loans from banks and financial institutions at high interest rates and this lending will increase the overall cost of power for the ordinary consumers.”

The association pointed that Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA), a major component of the tariff and allowed by the PSERC time to time to compensate for the inflation in coal prices, has been kept pending by the government. “For the first time in the history of Punjab, Government has denied FCA which is another unrecoverable hole in the finances of PSPCL…if PSPCL fails to arrange sufficient funds through loans to cover these gaping holes in its finances, and thereby failing to procure sufficient electricity, coal, materials or defaults in payment for electricity purchase during the coming summer season, people of Punjab will have to face serious power shortages and blackouts in the coming paddy season,” it added.

Pointing that the inordinate delay in making appointments of important posts in both PSPCL and PSTCL is negatively affecting the efficacy of the state power sector, the Association said that the sorry state of affairs has been further compounded by the interference of private consultants from a Bengluru-based private company in the day-to-day decision making of the power corporations. It has been alleged that AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been interfering through this private firm.

Talking about the AAP government’s decision to give 600 free units, the engineers’ body stated that the “new challenge” has resulted in unprecedented peak in the power demand in the winter months for domestic consumers. They also pointed that while the political patronage to power theft has not reduced, the free power units have acted as an “incentive for some unscrupulous consumers with political patronage to keep unit consumption below 600 units at any cost and vigilance activities by corporation staff are being thwarted by these unscrupulous elements”.