The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) which is struggling to meet the power demand in the ‘VIP’ district is also struggling to get cleared its pending dues against many governmental as well as private entities. An officer of the PSPCL told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity that various government departments owe around Rs 41 crore to PSPCL. The private entities also owe around Rs 9 crore to the power department. “The water supply and sanitation department is among the major defaulters. There are other departments under the local bodies which did not pay the power bills. We have been sending notices but to no avail,” the officer added. The officer said that they had issued 1,315 notices to the defaulters before the summer season but the defaulters did not pay the bills. He said, “With the huge pending amount of power bills, it is difficult for us to repair the faulty lines. This money we could have used for brushing up the new infrastructure. We urge people to pay the bills or we shall soon carry out the drive to disconnect power connections of the defaulters.” When asked about the one-time settlement under various schemes, the officer said that the PSPCL told the defaulters to settle the pending amount under various schemes but they got a very poor response. Asked why the PSPCL does not disconnect the power connections of the defaulting departments, the officer said important departments like water supply and sanitation department were among the major defaulters and they could not snap the power as it could lead to problems for the common man. The district is facing major power cuts in most of the areas due to rising power demand. The PSPCL has so far struggled to meet the demand leaving the people to spend hot summer nights outside their homes.
