Punjab industrial electricity tariff: Large Supply, Medium Supply and Small Power.

Who this page covers

Punjab has one distribution company, PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited), on a tariff set by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC). Industry is split into three schedules by sanctioned contract demand in kVA:

• Large Supply (LS): above 100 kVA, at 11 kV or higher.
• Medium Supply (MS): above 50 kVA up to 100 kVA, at 400 volts or 11 kV, as the consumer chooses.
• Small Power (SP): up to 50 kVA, at 230 or 400 volts. Until 31 March 2026 the limit was 20 kVA; consumers from 20 to 50 kVA moved from Medium Supply to Small Power on 1 April 2026.

The schedule is set by the total of industrial and general demand, including factory and colony lighting. PSERC’s tariff order of 6 March 2026 applies from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, and it cut the industrial energy charges by 12 to 74 paise per kVAh.

Rates for 2026-27

Power intensive units are induction furnaces, arc furnaces, electro slag refining, chlor-alkali and electrolytic plants, billet heaters, surface hardening machines and bell annealing furnaces. Where such load is up to 100 kVA inside a larger plant, the whole plant pays the general rate. Above 100 kVA, the bill is split pro rata between the general and power intensive demand, but never less than the whole load at the general rate.

Seasonal industries such as rice shellers and cotton ginning, and ice factories and cold storages, have their own fixed charges by season. They are not covered here.

How the fixed charge is worked out

The fixed charge is on the higher of 80% of contract demand and the maximum demand recorded in the month, counted up to contract demand. A 500 kVA plant pays for at least 400 kVA every month. At 470 kVA it pays for 470 kVA. Maximum demand is the highest average kVA over a 30-minute or 15-minute block, as the meter allows.

The ₹750 per kVA demand surcharge

Every kVA of maximum demand above sanctioned contract demand pays a demand surcharge of ₹750 per kVA for the month, however many times it happens. There is no grace band: at 501 kVA on a 500 kVA contract, 1 kVA is charged. PSPCL can also act against a consumer who keeps exceeding contract demand, and the consumer is liable for any damage it causes. The MD penalty guide explains how one spike sets a month’s charge.

Time of day

Time of day applies to all Large Supply and Medium Supply consumers. Small Power has none.

From 6 am to 6 pm the normal rate applies all year. The rebate cannot take the energy charge below ₹5.50 per kVAh, so on Large Supply at ₹5.90 the night rebate is 40 paise in both rebate periods, on Medium Supply at ₹5.83 it is 33 paise, and only plants at ₹6.25 or more get more than 50 paise in winter.

Night-only tariff

An industry that runs only at night can opt for a separate tariff, with one month’s written notice:

• 10 pm – 6 am: ₹5.50 per kVAh and 50% of the fixed charge of its category.
• 6 am – 10 am: the normal energy rate.
• 10 am – 10 pm: at most 10% of the night units. Above that, the whole month is billed at the normal tariff, with the peak surcharge on peak-hour units.

The time-of-day rebate does not apply on top of it.

Voltage rebate and surcharge

Energy charges get a rebate for supply at a higher voltage:

Supply below the voltage the Supply Code sets for the demand adds a surcharge on energy charges: 15% at 400 volts instead of 11 kV, 10% at 11 kV instead of 33 or 66 kV, and 5% at 33 or 66 kV instead of 132 or 220 kV. Where an HT plant is metered on the low-voltage side of its transformer, units and maximum demand are raised by 3% for transformer losses.

kVAh billing and power factor

Industrial energy is billed in kVAh, so there is no separate power factor penalty or incentive: a low power factor raises the units themselves. A plant that uses 1,35,000 kWh at a power factor of 0.90 is billed for 1,50,000 kVAh. At 0.98 it would be billed for about 1,37,755 kVAh, about ₹72,000 less a month at ₹5.90. The kVAh billing guide explains the difference.

Other lines on the bill

• FPPAS (fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge) is added to the energy charge as notified for the period. Take the current figure from your bill.
• Rounding: each charge is rounded to the nearest rupee, and the net amount payable to the nearest ₹10.
• Late payment: 1.5% a month simple interest on the unpaid amount, part of a month counted as a full month.

Worked example: a 500 kVA plant at 11 kV

An illustrative Large Supply general industry at 11 kV with a contract demand of 500 kVA, billed for November. Its maximum demand is 470 kVA, and it uses 1,50,000 kVAh in the month, 40,000 of them between 10 pm and 6 am.

Illustrative figures from the PSERC tariff schedule. Add FPPAS and the State levies from your bill. Work out your own bill with the electricity bill calculator.

What one demand spike costs

Suppose the same plant has one bad half-hour, say several heavy motors restarting together after a power cut, and maximum demand reaches 560 kVA. The fixed charge goes up to the full 500 kVA, ₹6,300 more, and the 60 kVA above contract demand pays ₹750 each, ₹45,000. The bill goes from ₹9,67,700 to ₹10,19,000: ₹51,300 more, for one half-hour.

What the evening peak costs in summer

From 16 June to 15 October, the same plant gets no night rebate, and units used from 6 pm to 10 pm cost ₹2 more. If 25,000 kVAh a month fall in those hours, the peak surcharge is ₹50,000 a month, about ₹2 lakh over the season. Every 1,000 kVAh moved out of the evening saves ₹2,000.

Where Punjab plants usually save

• Keep maximum demand at or below contract demand. Every kVA above it costs ₹750 for the month.
• Move load out of 6–10 pm from June to October. That is the only window with a surcharge, and it is ₹2 per kVAh.
• Keep power factor near unity. With kVAh billing, every point of power factor lost is paid for in units.
• Size contract demand to real demand. The fixed charge is never on less than 80% of it, so a plant that never goes above 300 kVA on a 500 kVA contract pays for 100 kVA it does not use, ₹21,000 a month at ₹210.
• Check the night-only tariff if most of the load already runs from 10 pm to 6 am. It halves the fixed charge.

How KONDUKTOR® EMS helps

KONDUKTOR® EMS reads the multifunction meters already on your panels and shows, while the month is still running, the numbers this tariff bills you on.

• Running maximum demand against contract demand, with a warning before it is crossed.
• kVAh by time of day for each meter, so evening peak units are seen the same day.
• Power factor for each meter, so a drop that inflates kVAh is caught early.
• Twelve months of maximum demand history, to size contract demand.