Punjab: Each household to get 300 units of free electricity from today

Fulfilling a poll promise, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that from Friday, each household in the state will be getting 300 units of free electricity every month.

Further, he also announced a waiver of electricity bill arrears of all households pending till 31 December 2021.

Mann said there was some confusion among people that arrears of up to 2 KW were waived but it is being clarified that pending electricity bills of all connections till 31 December 2021 have been waived by his government.

“Previous governments used to make promises during elections, five years would pass by the time promises were fulfilled. But our government has set a new example in Punjab's history,” the Punjab CM took to Twitter to say. 

“Today, we are going to fulfil another guarantee given to Punjabis. From today, each family in Punjab will get 300 units of free electricity per month,” he added. 

Poll promise and budget

Giving 300 units of free electricity was one of the major poll promises of the Aam Aadmi Party during the Punjab assembly elections. The party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal had promised free electricity for up to 300 units for the state in June last year.

Kejriwal had also promised a waiver of pending electricity bills and a round-the-clock power supply in the state.

In April, CM Mann said that if electricity consumption exceeds 600 units in two months, then a consumer will have to pay for the entire power usage. But the Scheduled Castes, backward castes, below-poverty-line households and freedom fighters will be charged just for over and above 600 units.

Punjab has a two-month billing cycle for power supply.

There are a total of 73.50 lakh domestic consumers in the state. Out of this, 61 lakh families are expected to benefit from the 300 units of free electricity.

In the state budget, a total power subsidy bill has been proposed at ₹15,845 crore as against ₹13,443 crore in 2021-22. Punjab provides subsided power to various categories and out of which, the subsidy bill on account of free electricity to the farming sector alone is around 7,000 crore.

It also provides free power of 200 units to SC, BC, BPL families and freedom fighters and gives power to the industrial sector at ₹5 per unit.

Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, while presenting the AAP-government's maiden budget on 27 June said providing 300 units of free power would put an additional burden of ₹1,800 crore on the state exchequer.

He had also said the state government had already planned to finance this scheme by cutting wasteful expenditure and through enhancement of its own tax revenue.

With inputs from agencies.