Power rates: SAD accuses Punjab govt of defrauding industry

Opposition SAD today accused the Congress government in Punjab of defrauding the state's industrial sector by "cleverly cloaking" additional charges above the flat Rs 5 per unit tariff it had promised.
The party claimed that with the additional charges the rates would be "higher" than those during SAD-BJP government's tenure in the state.
The electricity tariff plan that was promised nine months ago and is expected to be implemented in January, has very "cleverly cloaked" the final cost to be borne by the industry, he alleged in a statement.
"The tariff plan of Rs 5 per unit has a variable factor which includes an additional levy of Rs 195 per KVA at 80 per cent of connected load, besides electricity duty, octroi and infrastructure development fee. This effectively will make the tariff more than Rs 6 per unit," the SAD president said.

Small scale units, particularly those which do not run for more than 12 hours per day will see their tariff go up even further as they would have to pay an additional levy on sanctioned load whether they run their units or not, he claimed.
Terming the entire exercise a "cruel joke" with the industry, Badal said, "You will see a majority of consumers getting even more enhanced bills than they received during the SAD-BJP tenure. This move will also make the small scale industry not viable as they will have to bear the brunt of variable charges".

The Congress government had recommended and implemented a "draconian" power tariff hike on domestic consumers under the garb of subsidising the industry, he alleged.

"The truth is that the industry will not benefit and domestic consumers have been saddled with an unprecedented hike of 12 per cent with effect from April 2017.
"Besides, the government has also implemented a municipal tax equivalent to two per cent of power bills in municipal areas. The SAD will not allow this injustice against both commercial and domestic consumers," Badal said.
The party would soon come out with an action plan to force the government to withdraw its arbitrary hikes and give power to both industrial and domestic consumers at a flat rate of Rs 5 per unit, he said.

Speaking on the performance of the SAD-BJP government, he said the SAD-BJP did not raise power tariff for two consecutive years in 2015-16 and 2016-17.