Indian Army Requests Free Power, Panjab Faces Subsidy Strain

The Indian Army has requested the AAP govt. in Panjab to provide 300 units of free power per month to its personnel stationed in the state by citing a similar facility extended by the AAP-led Delhi govt. This request places the cash-strapped Panjab govt. in a difficult position, as it already owes USD 1.1B in power subsidies to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). The Army’s South Western Command, whose units are posted in south Panjab, made the appeal, noting that the govt. has been offering 300 units of free power to domestic consumers since July 2022 and should be extended to service personnel and defence civilians. As a heavily militarized border state, Panjab accepting such a request would require extending the facility to army formations, affecting over 100K troops and numerous civilian Defence Ministry employees. A senior officer mentioned that free power subsidies are given to individual domestic consumers, not to bulk supply entities like cantonments, which also include the Border Security Force which is spread 50 kms into Panjab from the Indo-Pakistan border–literally into half of Panjab, Indian Railways–and Central Public Works Department. The free electricity scheme has led to a surge in domestic connections, increasing consumption and projected subsidy costs, thereby risking PSPCL’s financial stability. Since the 2022 launch, domestic connections rose by 80K, with many exploiting ‘split connections’ for subsidies.