Bizmen to move High Court against powercom on fixed charges

Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 7

Furnace owners of Mandi Gobindgarh and Ludhiana today decided to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the state government for forcibly charging fixed electricity charges for the lockdown period (two months).

Bharat Bhushan Tonny, chief, Steel City Furnace Association, said, “Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had announced that fixed charges for the lockdown period will be completely waived. The PSPCL had issued a circular in this regard and Industry Minister had also announced to waive fixed charges. However, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has issued a circular directing the PSPCL to recover fixed charges by September end in installments.”

Mahesh Gupta, president of the Furnace Alliance Ludhiana, said, “As per the directive of the PSERC, they will be charged from Rs 25 lakh to Rs1 crore as an arrears for the lockdown period.”

He said industrialists had incurred heavy losses and were not in a position to pay fixed charges. He said the government should take a decision to protect the interests of industrialists in the state the earliest.