Petition No.08 of 2009
Date of Order: 30.03.2009

2. The Board was required to file the ARR and Tariff Petition for the financial year 2009-10 before the Commission, on or before 30th November, 2008. The Board filed the ARR and Tariff Petition on 29-12-2008. Since the Board had been authorized to function as a State Transmission Utility and a Licensee upto 30-11-2008 only, the ARR and Tariff Petition was not taken on record. The Board and the Government of Punjab (GOP) were requested to clarify the legal status of the Board after 30-11-2008. The Board, in letter No. 320 dated 25-02-2009 enclosed a notification issued by the GOP authorizing the Board to continue to function as a State Transmission Utility and a Licensee upto 15.06-2009. Thereafter, the ARR and Tariff Petition was taken on record and admitted on 27.02.2009.

   
   
3. The prescribed procedure for determination of tariff includes inviting objections from the public after giving atleast 30 days notice, holding public hearings obtaining inputs from the State Advisory Committee, hearing the views of the Board and validation of submitted data. Owing to late filing of the ARR and issue of notification as brought out in para 2 above, it is not possible for the Commission to pass the Tariff Order for 2009-10 by March 31, 2009.
   
   
4. During determination of the Board’s ARR & Tariff by the Commission for the year 2008-09, the GOP had given its consent for grant of subsidy for free electricity supply to Agricultural Pump set Consumers and 200 units per month free electricity supply to Scheduled Caste Domestic Supply consumers and non-Scheduled Caste Below Poverty Line Domestic Supply consumers with connected load up to 1000 watts. In view of this, Chief Secretary to the GOP was again requested on 4.3.2009 to intimate Government’s willingness or otherwise to provide subsidies for different categories of consumers for the period beyond March 31, 2009 till such time as the new Tariff Order comes into force. However there has so far been no response from the State Government.
   
   
5. In view of the above, existing tariff is ordered to be charged from all categories of consumers w.e.f. 1.4.2009 till the date of issue of Tariff Order for the year 2009-10 subject to the condition that the GOP continues to pay subsidy for the categories of consumers as mentioned in para 4 above.