Electricity distribution companies, also known as discoms, of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu owe nearly Rs 800 crore to state-run PTC India for the electricity that two states purchased from the trading company.
As of now, the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board has outstanding dues of about Rs 420 crore while Tamil Nadu owes Rs 400 crore to PTC, its chairman and managing director Deepak Amitabh said while speaking to reporters on Friday.
PTC India trades about 90-110 million units of electricity on a daily basis.
“We had problems in getting payments from Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. After an increase in the tariff, we are now receiving the payments from Tamil Nadu,” Amitabh said.
Amitabh added that Uttar Pradesh is expected to start paying outstanding dues from next month since the state had recently passed an order to increase electricity tariff. “In the past couple of months, we have been receiving the payment in small amounts from Tamil Nadu towards the clearance of outstanding dues,” he added.
The precarious health of electricity distribution companies remains a major concern for the power sector.
Last month, the government notified a debt restructuring package for discoms primarily to restructure their short-term loans.
Amitabh also hinted at the formation of a SAARC Power Grid to tap the surplus power generated in the neighbouring countries.