Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 23
Industrialists of the city are sore over the manner the PSPCL was putting financial burden on industry. They feel that Advance Security Deposit by PSPCL was additional burden on the industry given the prevailing recessionary phase. The industrialists held a meeting today and decided to file a writ petition to the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Committee against Advance Security Deposit (ASD).
Inderjit Singh Navyug, president of UCPMA, said Ludhiana was called the Manchester of India. “But due to various factors, the industry is going through a recessionary trend. Many industries are on the verge of closure. On the other hand, the government, too, was not giving any incentive to uplift those industries. Slowly, the PSPCL has started hiking the power rates, which till now are bearable. With the prevailing slump in the market, the increased rates have become a financial burden. The PSPCL is already taking fixed charges from the industry. In the present scenario, ASD should not be there, and should be scrapped,” said Navyug.
The other members of the association also said the PSPCL had started serving notices on many units whose consumption had either increased or who had increased their load. “When fixed charges are being given, there is no point in getting ASD. And if they are taking it, they should pay us back the interest on the ASD. We did not mind paying ASD earlier as our industries were getting good returns, but now amid slump, such burdens are pinching,” said Avtar Singh Bhogal, another member.