PSEB seeks deferment till Dec 25 but fails to justify it The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB),on behalf of the government,had approached the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) for deferment of the hike in power tariffs to other category of users,on September 25. The commission,in its order dated October 10,had asked the board to specify the provision of law under which such deferment was being sought. The PSEB was given time till November 25 to file a reply to which it sought a 10-day extension. However,the board has again failed to meet the deadline of December 10 allowed by the power regulator. We are awaiting the decision of the two-member committee of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia before filing any reply, Chief Engineer V K Bhatia,who deals with petitions of the board,said. But while the political bosses decide,the entire exercise of seeking a deferment has now been rendered futile. The consumers for whom the relief has been sought are footing hiked bills since September and nowhere does the PSEB petition speaks of reversing the hiked amounts being received from users. On the contrary,the petition states that the total amount,including hike,will be recovered from consumers after the date till which a deferment is being sought,with interest. It also makes no mention of government bearing the burden of the hike through subsidy. Also,in its original petition,the PSEB had asked for deferment till November 7. Later,it filed an additional application for extending the date for deferment till December 25. However,all this while,it has failed to satisfy the commission as to the grounds for seeking such relief despite being granted more time. Even if it is allowed deferment till December 25 when its petition comes up for hearing before the regulator on December 17,the board is clueless on what relief will the deferment bring for power consumers who are already paying as per the new rates. Where is the money for another subsidy? Already neck-deep in debt,Punjab has been raising loans to meet even day-to-day expenses. The state has been diverting funds from central schemes and holding back payments of government departments to ensure that it does not default on salaries salaries and pensions alone together account for Rs 1000 crore per month. Already defaulting on payment of power subsidy on agriculture,Punjab cannot afford to commit itself to a new subsidy even if it so desires.
