There are 2,000 applications from domestic consumers and 2,500 from commercial consumers.

This is because most of the industrial units are located in residential areas. The PSEB is demanding that the industrial units get No-Objection Certificates from the Municipal Corporation and Punjab Pollution Control Board. The majority of industrial units are not able to procure NoCs. The 100 applications from industrial consumers are from units in Focal Point, Giaspura and Industrial Area. These areas are designated industrial areas.

Industrialists have now asked the government to withdraw the NoC condition so that they can expand their units. Said H S Randhawa, PSEB Superintending Engineer, Ludhiana East, “Because industrial consumers operating from residential areas are not being able to get NoCs from the corporation, we cannot extend their load. They can’t even take advantage of VDS as well”.

Officials, however, said several industrialists have unauthorisedly extended the power load. This, they said, are causing a loss to PSEB. System overload, they said, causes breakdowns and eventually power cuts.