| "The increase in tariff rates for domestic supply has been proposed at 8.4 per cent, in the case of the agriculture sector 12 per cent and for all other categories 7 per cent," PSERC Chairman Jai Singh Gill said. |
| "The tariff order and the higher rates will be applicable from September 1," he said. |
| For domestic consumers, the tariff had been hiked from the existing Rs 2.21 per kilowatt hour (kwh) to Rs 2.40, while for agricultural consumption, the tariff will be Rs 2.40/kwh, up by 36 paise. |
| Gill said the annual revenue requirement (ARR) of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) for the year 2007-08 was determined at Rs 9,616.89 crore as against Rs 11,861.05 crore proposed by the board. |
| "The revenue gap for the year 2007-08 has been worked out at Rs 87.21 crore as against Rs 2,423.11 crore proposed by the Board," he said. |
| "There is an overall revenue deficit of Rs 423.78 crore after combining the effects of true up exercise for the year 2005-06, review of ARR for the year 2006-07 and the revenue gap of Rs 87.21 crore for the year 2007-08, which is proposed to be covered by the increase in the tariff," he said. |
| Gill said that the combined average cost of supply for the year 2007-08 works out to 343.99 paise per unit as against 329.94 paise per unit last year. |
| Gill said the total amount of government subsidy for free power supply to farmers in the current year worked out to be Rs 1,988.15 crore. |
| Besides, the state government had committed to pay Rs 130.95 crore for free supply of 200 units per month to domestic consumers hailing from scheduled castes (SC) and non-SC Below Poverty Line (BPL) category with a connected load up to 1,000 watts. |
| He said that the state government had also committed to pay the balance subsidy amounting to Rs 421.99 crore for the year 2006-07. |
| Gill, however, said the captive power plants had been exempted from the payment of parallel operation charges. |
| Gill said the big general industries and medium enterprises will have to pay a tariff of Rs 3.98/kwh, against the existing Rs 3.72/kwh. |
| He said religious places like Golden Temple at Amritsar will get free power supply for the first 2,000 units, but for usage beyond the prescribed limit, the tariff had been upped by 21 paise to Rs 3.22/kwh. |
| To encourage availability of additional power through open access by the consumers, the Commission has reviewed the Open Access Regulations, Gill said, adding that consumers opting for short-term open access were liable to pay transmission and wheeling charges. The transmission and wheeling charges had been reduced from 25 per cent to 20 per cent of the aggregate of transmission and wheeling charges. |
| Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses during power supply to consumers at 66 KV have been reduced from 50 to 30 per cent. |
| "Since Punjab is a power deficit state, such cross subsidy surcharge should be substantially low. However, for 2007-08, as per the amended regulations, surcharge would be nil," Gill said. Now an open access customer who was required to pay about 50 paise per unit for short-term and 54 paise per unit for long-term access in addition to 50 per cent of the normative T&D losses would be paying only 10 paise per unit for short-term and 16 paise per unit for long-term open access. |
| Under the amended regulations the T&D losses would be levied at 30 per cent of the normative T&D losses for voltage up to 66 KV and 50 per cent of the normative T&D losses for voltage below 66 KV. |
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