3rd DISCOM set to wilt under Rs 35,900-cr dues
Power dues from irrigation, HMWSSB transferred to new DISCOM
Hyderabad: The newly established third DISCOM is all set to face big financial challenges from day one of its operations. The two existing electricity distribution companies (DISCOMS) -TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL - transferred Rs 35,900-crore pending power dues to the new power utility and suggested to it to collect the arrears from the three government agencies.
State Irrigation Department alone owes power dues of a whopping Rs 22,900 crore followed by Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) (Rs 7,084 crore) and Mission Bhagiratha (Rs 5,972 crore).
The total power dues were estimated at Rs 45,398 crore of which Rs 35,900 crore were transferred to the new DISCOM, top officials said, adding that putting financial burden on the third power utility even before the start of the operations would create a lot of financial challenges for it to move forward.
“Power utilities are given permission to seek loans through borrowings from different financial institutions including scheduled banks in the country. The utilities which maintain healthy financial status are entitled to go for loans for the improvement of the energy infrastructure and other development works”, officials said. The new DISCOM will have to open its financial balance sheet with debts and pending power dues and this will put heavy risk on the existence of the utility in the future, they added.
Sources said that the government was planning to reduce financial burden on the Telangana State Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGNPDCL) and Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) by transferring all power dues to the third DISCOM without giving any financial support. Further, all the free and subsidized power supply schemes were also brought under the purview of the new DISCOM to make the existing DISCOMs financially strong in the future. “Such decisions will look good initially. But the entire power sector will be at high risk if the new DISCOM suffers huge financial loss,” sources added.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department officials said that the state government would take some important decisions to strengthen the new DISCOM financially only after studying the functioning of the three power utilities for at least one year.
