PremiumStates are falling in line after the Centre cracked the whip on power payment delays, with distribution companies except in Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka clearing monthly dues over the past two weeks
NEW DELHI : States are falling in line after the Centre cracked the whip on power payment delays, with distribution companies except in Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka clearing monthly dues over the past two weeks.
The central government recently asked power exchanges to stop trading by errant discoms and reduce supply to them by 25% under the late payment surcharge rules if dues were not paid after two-and-a-half months of bill generation.
On 18 August, the Power System Operation Corp. (POSOCO) barred 27 discoms across 13 states from buying and selling power on the exchanges from 19 August, citing a delay in paying dues.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu are among large states where discoms have paid the dues since then, shows data on the power ministry’s Praapti portal.
The Jammu and Kashmir Power Distribution Co. and Hubli Electricity Supply Co. Ltd in Karnataka are yet to clear dues of ₹613.83 crore and ₹156.24 crore, respectively.
The 13 states where discoms were barred from the power exchanges included Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Mizoram.
Total dues of these discoms on the day they were barred were about ₹5,000 crore, with discoms in Telangana owing the highest amount of ₹1,380 crore.
“Power supply to several states was regulated, and several were barred from trading in the exchanges. Now, many of them have cleared their regular dues," an official familiar with the matter said on the condition of anonymity.
Queries sent to the ministry of power remained unanswered till press time.
The development follows the introduction of the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, in June.
According to the rules, non-payment of dues by the distribution licensee or other user of the transmission system even after two-and-a-half months from the bill presentation by the generating company or transmission licensee or trading licensee, or in case of default in the payment of instalments, “short-term access, for sale and purchase of electricity, including in the power exchange shall be regulated entirely".
“On payment of outstanding dues, the regulation of access under this rule shall end, and it shall be restored at the earliest, but not later than two days," said the gazette notification on the rules.
On 16 August, Mint reported that power generation companies have started regulating power supply to discoms, which have deferred paying their monthly dues, with supplies to those in Meghalaya and Sikkim cut by a quarter.
The latest update on the Praapti website showed that discoms in both states cleared their dues.
The official cited above, however, said that distribution companies have paid the monthly dues, but the legacy dues piled up over the years remain.
Out of the legacy dues, discoms are expected to pay ₹4,000-5,000 crore by 5 September, he added.
Earlier this month, the state-run Rural Electrification Corp. provided financial assistance of approximately ₹22,000 crore for clearing the outstanding dues by the distribution licensees of Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir.