The lowering of power tariff in Punjab has been challenged in the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), which has accepted a petition for further hearing.Weeks after the power tariffs for 2026-27 were reduced by 50 paise to Rs 1.50 per unit for all categories of consumers in Punjab, the PSEB Engineers Association has challenged the recent Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) tariff order, based upon the revised annual revenue requirement (ARR), in APTEL.In its petition before APTEL, the Association claims that the tariff order places PSPCL under “severe financial stress”, which could “jeopardise its operational and financial” sustainability. The drop in power tariff came weeks after the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) filed a revised ARR before the PSERC, reducing its total revenue requirement by a few thousand crores, leading to low power rates. In their petition before APTEL, which has been accepted, the PSEB Engineers Association claims that the revised ARR and the revised figures “pose a serious threat to PSPCL’s financial stability”.The plea states that in order to reduce the State’s subsidy burden, PSPCL relied on unrealistic T&D (transmission and distribution) loss projections and altered financial assumptions, converting a revenue deficit of Rs 1,713 crores into a surplus of Rs 7,851 crores, while cutting subsidy from Rs 22,250 crores to Rs 15,200 crores.The petition has sought to stay the implementation of the PSERC tariff order of March 6 to the extent challenged in this Appeal. The petition states that the Distribution Loss Trajectory of an unrealistic and unprecedented 10.00% for FY 2026-27, which is in direct conflict with the Distribution Loss Trajectory of 11.80%, has been approved by PSERC in the Business Plan Order of December 11, 2025. PSERC during FY 2024-25 approved the Distribution Loss Trajectory for the 4th Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) Control Period at 11.80% (FY 2026-27), 11.60% (FY 2027-28), and 11.40% (FY 2028-29), along with a corresponding Capital Investment Plan.Now, by accepting PSPCL’s higher loss base of 13.05% for FY 2024-25, it would “reward PSPCL for its inefficiency” and consider 11.80% as a reasonable and achievable target for FY 2026-27 as tariff income. “Further, PSPCL has treated Rs 3,581.95 crores received by PSPCL as loss funding from the Government.The Additional Submissions had reduced the Net Revenue Requirement by Rs 1,259 crores. All these assumptions have reduced the Net Revenue Requirement approved for PSPCL for FY 2026-27 to Rs 48,996 crore, significantly lower than PSPCL’s original claim of Rs 52,365 crore and even below PSPCL’s own revised claim of Rs 51,106 crores, resulting in an illusory revenue surplus of Rs 7,851.91 crores for FY 2026-27, while simultaneously reducing the Government subsidy payable to Rs 15,200 crores against the projected Rs 22,250 crores,” reads the petition that would come up for hearing in July.“The severe reduction in revenue availability permitted by the Impugned Order is likely to adversely affect infrastructure investment, quality of supply and discharge of statutory obligations and place PSPCL under severe financial stress which could jeopardise its operational and financial sustainability,” claim the petitioners. Earlier in March 2026, in the run-up to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, power tariffs for 2026-27 were reduced by 50 paise to Rs 1.50 per unit for all categories of consumers in the state. Elections in the state are due in a few months. The overall relief to the power consumers is pegged at Rs 7,851.91 crore.