VIJAYAWADA: Even as the financially beleaguered power distribution companies (Discoms) are finding ways to bring down their expenditure, total dues to be paid by various government departments have mounted to Rs 8,874.5 crore by the end of September this year. While small amounts have been cleared by a few departments, officials said the arrears continue to shoot up.
According to information, the dues to be paid to the Discoms by the government departments increased by almost Rs 1,600 crore in the first half of this financial year between April 1 and September 30, from Rs 7,276 crore to Rs 8,874.53 crore. While on one hand the cash-strapped Discoms are raising loans, for which the State government is providing guarantee as the lenders have been refusing to process the loan otherwise, piling up of dues from government departments is adding to the fiscal stress.
“The consumption charges dues to be paid by the government departments have been increasing. The arrears have accumulated over the years since 2014 and the clearance of the same is rather slow. Three departments — Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Water Resources and Municipal Administration and Urban Development — owe almost 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the dues,” said a senior official from APTRANSCO.
Sources further added that the water resources department has recently given sanction of around Rs 800 crore for payment of charges for the year 2020-21. “A few other payments, small in size, were also made. Other departments are also paying a part of the dues as they are also unable to mop up funds. But the arrears are still huge,” another official noted.
Though the government had planned to curtail the mounting government power dues payable to Discoms by installing pre-paid meters in all government offices, it is yet to materialise. Furthermore, the department has decided to establish energy conservation cells in all the government offices to bring down the consumption charges.
Energy audits would be conducted in all the offices to identify the scope for bringing down the consumption. “This will not only help us conserve energy, but would also help us control the power bills of the departments, which add to the list of dues,” the official noted.