Pay more for power: Punjab needs to push reforms
Tribune Editorial
Consumers in Punjab hate to pay for power, the supply of which is so irregular, inefficient and unreliable. This summer not only the rains got delayed, the electricity board also decided to skip buying more power, perhaps, to put up a better financial show. Irate consumers thrashed junior power board officials at many places. The board functioning is so pathetic that every year the regulator pulls up the management for inflating losses and fudging the figures. Before abandoning the power reforms mid-way, the government had at least set up the regulatory authority, which, considering all aspects and claims, decides how much increase in the tariff is justified. That is the only solace for the consumer.

However, the power consumer’s anger at the 12.4 per cent increase, that too from a back date, is understandable. Industry is crying foul as power is diverted to ensure smooth paddy sowing every year, causing loss of production and inflating costs. The ruling Akali Dal’s ally, the BJP, which took up the industrial and urban consumers’ cause last year, irritated by the free supply to farmers, has avoided a showdown this time. It should be understood that no service can sustain itself unless it recovers the costs. “Nobody likes paying more, but the rates have to go up to meet the costs”, aptly remarked the regulatory commission’s chairman, Mr Jai Singh Gill. Most consumers may not mind paying a little more if regular supply is ensured.

The root cause of all trouble is that Punjab does not generate enough power. The government has bankrupted itself through populism and extravagance. Its free power bill has risen to Rs 3,143 crore a year. Free power and political interference have crippled the board, financially and administratively. There is no alternative to implementing the power reforms, which aim at splitting the board, making each entity self-sufficient, viable and accountable and stopping political meddling. The vested interests, no wonder, are resisting the reforms.