Jangveer Singh The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is getting pushed in the red to meet needs of non-paying consumers and earning the dubious distinction of topping the country in the purchase of costly power. According to data available with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), the board had to purchase power to avoid cuts in past few years. The board's power purchase has increased from three to four times since 2004-05. The board purchased power worth Rs 6,000 crore in 2007-08 compared to power purchases of Rs 2,230 crore in 2004-05. According to figures, it is short-term power purchases in a market-driven atmosphere decided by suppliers, which is responsible for the board's woes. The PSEB has also chosen to ignore guidelines of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) for massive short-term power purchases. In the tariff order for 2007-08, the PSERC allowed only 1256 million units (Mus) of power purchase through traders at the cost of Rs 712.49 crore. According to the CERC in 2007-08, the PSEB purchased 3730.88 Mus from traders at a cost of over Rs 2,100 crore. In doing so it purchased 17.8 per cent of the total traded power available in the country next to Bengal which purchased 1785 MUs, Andhra Pradesh with 1392 MUs and Madhya Pradesh with 1357 MUs. All these states are three to four times bigger than Punjab. Figures available with the CERC state during three years the volume of the traded power purchased by the PSEB has increased by 162 per cent whereas the volume of total electricity traded in the country rose by only 90 per cent during this period. As per the data on the PSERC site, the PSEB has spent Rs 382 crore (at the rate of Rs 2.69 paise per unit) during 2004-05, Rs 555 crore (at the rate of Rs 3.13 per unit) during 2005-06 and Rs 1778 crore (at the rate of Rs 5.23 per unit) in 2006-07. The board is likely to spend Rs 2,100 crore (at the rate of Rs 5.75 per unit) in 2007-08. According to board sources in case the transmission and distribution losses (22 per cent) are taken into consideration the average cost of the power at the consumer end is over Rs 7 per unit. The maximum domestic tariff in 2007-08 was Rs 4.16 per unit and industrial tariff Rs 3.98 per unit. Even if it is assumed that whole of this power is supplied to the highest tariff consumers even then te PSEB is losing over Rs 3 per unit. This could be more as the board is restricting the supply on the paying sector and giving supply to the non-paying sectors like agriculture and rural areas.