Chandigarh: Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Tuesday claimed that free power to farmers, subsidized power tariff industry and 300 units free electricity for domestic consumers will continue and no scheme will be stopped.
In a statement issued here, Mr Harbhajan reiterated that the new electricity tariff will not
affect the common people of the state as the cost of increased electricity rates will be borne by the state government.
Justifying the power tariff hike, he said power tariff in many states was very high, while
the rates in Punjab were lower than other states. He said, there was no increase in electricity rates during the last one year. He said sometimes coal has to be imported due to union government policies. Similarly, the costs of installing new transformers are increasing.
While alleging that the previous dispensations used to increase the power rates several times in a year, he said his government has slightly increased the tariff after one year.
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission had announced on Monday, two days
after ruling Aam Aadmi Party registered its win in Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls, to revise fixed and variable tariff upward for all categories.
