The unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) will probably have to wait longer. The Punjab government has approached the Centre for more time, i.e. till May 31 next year, to finish the job. The proposal is pending with the Centre.
The current phase of extension given to the project, which is the eighth in the past three years, will end on October 31. Speaking to Business Standard, Punjab Power Secretary Suresh Kumar said: “We had approached the Union power ministry to seek another extension. The matter is pending with it.”
The Electricity Act, 2003, mandates that all state electricity boards (SEBs) be reorganised into distinct entities handling generation, transmission and distribution, and the union government had asked the state governments to set up companies to run the state electricity boards in a more efficient and professional manner.
More than 12 states have unbundled their electricity boards. However, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been marking time.
Earlier the union government had asked the state government to submit a road map for the unbundling of the PSEB by June 30. However, the state government had then said without clearing the huge assets and liabilities of the PSEB, the unbundling the PSEB would be a tedious task, taking into consideration that the new companies set up in the unbundling process should have clean balance sheets.
Sources said Union power ministry officials had asked the Punjab government to set up at least a transmission company to fulfil the minimum requirement of the Act. It is also learnt that the government is also working to prepare a final report to be submitted to the power ministry.
Among the initial steps might be the proposal for creating a separate utility out of the transmission wing of the PSEB, because the Electricity Act requires the transmission utility be separate from the state power board.
The PSEB is a statutory body formed on February 1, 1959, under the Electricity Supply Act, 1948.
Subsequently with the re-organisation of the erstwhile state of Punjab under the Punjab Re-organization Act, 1966, the present form came into existence on May 1, 1967.
Power consumers in Punjab will no more have to stand in long queues to pay bills. The PSEB will introduce an on-the-spot billing system from this month. The board will introduce handheld meter readers, by means of which customers can pay at home.
The system is being introduced on a pilot basis at the Patel Chowk sub-division of the city and this project is the first of its kind to be introduced by the PSEB in the north zone of Punjab. The PSEB has supplied 16 machines to the city for trial with a capacity to generate electricity bills up to Rs 1,000.
