In a huge relief to all power consumers who were unable to pay their bills until 1 June, Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) on Sunday allowed them to clear the outstanding bills in four monthly installments without any late payment charges, while 10 per cent interest on a reduced balance basis would apply.
Daljit Inderpal Singh Grewal, Chief Engineer, Central Zone, said “PSPCL has undertaken several measures to provide relief to the electricity consumers to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. All domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, who are unable to pay their bills up to June 1, can clear the dues pay in maximum four monthly instalments. In place of late payment surcharge and other charges, only 10% interest (per annum) shall be charged on reducing the balance computed from May 11 (extended due date) or the original due date of bill, whichever is later.”
However, this facility is subject to the condition that the current bill with due date on or after June 1, 2020 is cleared timely by the consumer. Grewal said, “In addition to this, the due date of payment of power bills of all domestic and commercial consumers with bill amounts up to Rs 10,000 and all the industrial consumers payable from March 20, 2020 till the end of May 2020 will be extended up to June 1 without levying late payment surcharge. In cases where bills in May have already been issued after levying a late payment surcharge on the previous bill, the surcharge shall be refunded. Besides, it has also been decided that no power disconnection will be done for non-payment of bills till June 15.”
Hailing the decision, Atul Saggar, Secretary-General of the Apparel Manufacturers Association, Ludhiana, said, “Allowing consumers to pay outstanding bills in four installments is a huge relief, particularly for those with industrial ties, as we have suffered enormous losses as a result of the lockdown.”
Pardeep Wadhawan, former senior vice president of the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA), said: “We are grateful to chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and senior officials of PSPCL, who have taken the bold decisions of bill payment in instalments and waiving late payment charges. Now the only major problem we face from PSPCL is the high rates of industrial power which should be reduced immediately, so as to reduce the industrial cost of production in Punjab”.
