The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has issued an order addressing the true-up of the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) for the financial year (FY) 2024 and approved the revised ARR forecast and tariff determination for FY 2026 for the Punjab State Transmission Corporation (PSTCL).

Background

PSTCL sought the Commission’s approval for the true-up of its ARR for FY 2024, the revised ARR forecast for FY 2026, and the determination of associated tariffs.

It requested that any revenue gap or surplus resulting from the true-up process, including carrying costs, be incorporated into future tariffs. It also sought permission to deviate from specific regulations (PSERC MYT Regulations 2022) where deemed necessary and reserved the right to modify its petition at a later stage.

The Commission received objections to PSTCL’s proposals from various stakeholders. These objections came from consumer organizations, industrial consumers, and the Punjab government. The concerns raised related to the proposed tariff levels, the justification of expenses claimed by PSTCL, and PSTCL’s adherence to the prevailing regulatory framework.

Commission’s Analysis

The Commission noted that the actual transmission loss submitted by PSTCL for FY 2024 was 2.24%, slightly lower than the actual transmission loss of 2.25%.

It approved the average power purchase rate of ₹4.83 (~$0.0566)/kWh for FY 2024 to calculate the gain from reducing the actual transmission loss (2.24%) against the targeted transmission loss (2.25%). For the true-up of FY 2024, the Commission approved the absolute value of transmission loss as 1,461.73 million kWh.

The tariff order specifies that transmission charges include both fixed monthly fees and charges for open access customers. The standard monthly transmission charge is ₹1.48 billion (~$17.32 million).

Additionally, the order specifies tariffs for customers utilizing open access transmission. Long and medium-term open access customers will be levied a charge of ₹108,601.52 (~$1270.31)/MW/month. Short-term open access customers will face a charge of ₹238.575 (~$2.79).

The Commission acknowledged PSTCL’s achievement in reducing transmission losses and allowed its claim for a share of the overachievement in reducing transmission losses.

It also noted discrepancies between the approved capital investment for FY 2024, per the order dated May 15, 2023, and the amount PSTCL submitted for true-up.

The Commission provisionally approved a capital expenditure of ₹4.2 billion (~$49.14 million), excluding contributory works and projects under the Power System Development Fund Scheme. It included certain works worth ₹4 million (~$46,808.10) as contributory works to be excluded from capital expenditure.

PSERC also approved PSTCL’s asset procurement expenditure for FY 2024 worth ₹33 million (~$385,179.79).

Recently, PSERC approved the Punjab State Power Corporation’s procurement of 400 MW of solar power from SAEL Industries at a tariff of ₹2.97 (~$0.034)/kWh.

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