Discoms Outstanding Dues rise by 17.3% to Rs 1,23,244 crores

Discoms Outstanding Dues – According to official data, the total outstanding dues owing by energy distribution companies (discoms) to power producers climbed by 17.3% year on year to Rs 1,23,244 crore in April 2022. 
 
According to the portal PRAAPTI, in April 2021, discoms owed electricity generation companies a total of Rs 1,05,029 crore (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators). 
 
Power producers offer discoms 45 days to settle their electricity bills. After that, outstanding dues become past due, and generators, in most circumstances, levy penal interest. 
 
The Centre implemented a payment security method on August 1, 2019, to provide relief to power generation firms (gencos). 
 
Discoms are required to open letters of credit in order to get power using this mechanism. In light of the COVID-19-induced lockout, the Centre also gave discoms some leeway in paying genco dues. Penalties for late payment of dues had also been waived by the government. 
 
The government announced a Rs 90,000-crore liquidity infusion for discoms in May 2020, as part of which these utilities received low-interest loans from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC Ltd. This was a government programme designed to keep gencos solvent.

Discoms Outstanding Dues

The liquidity injection package was later expanded to Rs 1.2 lakh crore, then to Rs 1.35 lakh crore. 
 
According to the data, discoms in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu accounted for the majority of genco dues in April. 
 
Independent power producers accounted for 55.63 percent of the total discom overdues of Rs 1,04,885 crore. The late fraction of central PSU gencos was 21.84 percent. 
 
Independent power producers accounted for 55.63 percent of the total discom overdues of Rs 1,04,885 crore. The late fraction of central PSU gencos was 21.84 percent.

NTPC and Adani Power

In April 2022, NTPC alone has an outstanding sum of Rs 4,223.50 crore, followed by DVC at Rs 3,571.83 crore and NPCIL – Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant at Rs 3,179.13 crore among the central public sector gencos. 
 
Discoms owe Adani Power the most outstanding amount of Rs 25,586.73 crore among private generators, followed by Bajaj Group-owned Lalitpur Power Generation Company at Rs 5,309.29 crore. 
 
In April 2022, the amount owed to renewable energy producers was Rs 20,827.22 crore. 

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