Free electricity was one of the key pre-poll promises of AAP, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal assuring 300 units during his election campaign in June last year. “We will fulfil all our promises in the next five years,” Mann said.
The freebie comes with a rider that if a household exceeds more than 600 units in two months, it will have to pay the full bill. Punjab has a two-month billing cycle. The move will put an estimated additional burden of Rs 5,000 crore on the state exchequer, according to AAP MLA Aman Arora. “But the AAP governance model will ensure that the burden is not transferred to the people,” he said.
Mann clarified that members of Scheduled Castes, backward classes below the poverty line, and freedom fighters currently getting 200 free units each month, will get 300 units and charged just for the usage over and above the free 600 units in two months. “If they consume 640 or 645 units, they would pay for 40 or 45 units,” he explained.
Mann said rates of industrial and commercial units will not be hiked and free electricity for the agriculture sector will continue. He also announced a waiver of pending bills up to 2KW load till December 31, 2021.
The CM said Punjab is a power-producing state, but could not provide free or cheaper electricity to the people because of flawed agreements by previous governments. He said his government is committed to providing the cheapest electricity to commercial and industrial sectors.
AAP claimed the scheme will benefit 80% of domestic consumers in the state. The state has 73 lakh domestic consumers, of whom around 61 lakh use less than 300 units a month and are eligible for the free power scheme. Around 21.8 lakh consumers under SC and backward classes in the BPL category are already getting 200 units free.
According to budget estimates for 2021-22, Punjab’s outstanding debt is likely to rise to nearly Rs 2.82 lakh crore. The state’s total receipts were estimated at Rs 1.62 lakh crore and total expenditure was estimated at Rs 1.68 lakh crore before the electricity subsidy.
