By Manmohan Singh
Electricity generation in India began on a commercial scale nearly 127 years ago, in 1899.
Among the pioneering states of the country, Punjab issued its first electricity connection exactly 110 years ago, on 8 February 1916.
According to Er. Gursharan Singh Khaira, Deputy Chief Engineer, City Operation Circle, Amritsar, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, records retrieved from the oldest electricity department office near Hall Gate, Amritsar, reveal that the first electricity connection was sanctioned by the then Chief Electrical Engineer, H.C. Greenwood.
On 11 December 1915, the Municipal Electricity Department submitted an application seeking installation of the first electricity connection at the residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, who at that time was C.M. King. Based on this request, the first work order (Work Order No. 1) dated 8 February 1916 was issued, and the applicant was instructed to deposit ₹55 for the release of the electricity connection.
According to Er. Ratan Mittal, Chief Engineer, South Operation Zone, PSPCL, Mrs. Sarita became the one-crore (10 million) electricity consumer of PSPCL after obtaining a domestic electricity connection. Her electricity consumption bill was issued on 31 July 2021.
As per records of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, electricity tariffs in 1917 were eight annas per unit, with a 25 percent rebate. The site of the Upper Bari Doab Canal, where turbines were installed in 1915 to generate electricity for the city, has been preserved under the Heritage Project.
After PSPCL took over the electricity departments of Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations in 1995, the organization has completed a long and significant journey of expansion and modernization.
Present Status of Electricity Consumers in Punjab
At present, PSPCL is illuminating approximately 10.7 million electricity consumer premises across various categories, including 7.928 million domestic connections,1.257 million commercial connections
1.391 million agricultural connections, 0.157 million industrial connections
6,414 other connections
Photo caption:
A copy of requisition by Amritsar DC for 19 lamps of 32 watts,4 celling fans of 110 watts,9 Plugs for table lamps for the camp office and 2 Plugs of 500 watts each for radiators,which was submitted in the year 1915
(Manmohan Singh is a Public Relations Advisor. He retired as
Deputy Secretary, Public Relations
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Patiala.
Can be contacted at
Email: iopspcl@gmail.com
Phone: 843725172)
