After an assurance by the to clear Rs 1,800 crore per annum for next five years, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Pspcl) has been granted a loan of Rs 9,641 crore for the installation of smart meters.
The PSPCL has been allowed to strengthen Infrastructure for the loss reduction in a time bound manner under revamped distribution sector scheme (RDSS) of by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
The project cost of smart metering works is Rs 5,768 crore with a grant of Rs 875 crore from Central Government. An additional incentive of Rs 85 crore will be given on completion of the project in defined time period. The project cost for strengthening the infrastructure for loss reduction is Rs 3,837 crore with a grant of Rs 3,199 crores.
This loan, however, comes with a rider that the state department must clear arrears of subsidy amounting to Rs 9,020 crore, along with pending electricity dues from government departments of Rs 2,548 crore, to the PSPCL.