Chandigarh, March 15 — Despite recovering ₹363 crore from government departments in December 2024, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) still faces a massive defaulting amount of ₹2,324 crore in 2025. According to data compiled until January 31, four state government departments account for 91.7% of the total dues.
The major defaulters include the water supply and sanitation department (₹957 crore), local government (₹698 crore), rural development and panchayat (₹340 crore), and health and family welfare (₹107 crore). Other defaulting departments—sewerage board (₹54 crore), home affairs (₹23 crore), public works (₹23 crore), and school education (₹21 crore)—owe a combined ₹121 crore.
The burden of the free power subsidy scheme and delayed government payments has forced PSPCL to rely on loans to cover expenses, delaying salaries and pensions.
“Last year, short of funds, PSPCL took a loan of ₹800 crore to meet statutory financial requirements, mostly due to political compulsions,” said VK Gupta, spokesperson for the All India Power Engineers Federation.
The Punjab State Electricity Board Engineers’ Association (PSEBEA) had urged the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to take suo motu action to ensure government payments, but the issue persists. PSPCL’s One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, extended multiple times since 2023 due to poor response, has failed to prompt government offices to clear dues.
Region-wise, government defaulters in the south zone owe ₹638 crore, followed by the border zone (₹569 crore), west zone (₹551 crore), north zone (₹368 crore), and central zone (₹201 crore).
“We are hopeful the government will clear our dues this fiscal; otherwise, more loans will be required for power purchase costs, coal procurement, railway freight, and other essential expenses,” a senior PSPCL official said.
