BENGALURU: Five public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the power sector in Karnataka suffered losses of Rs 2,019.09 crore in 2017-18, while six PSUs in the sector earned a profit of Rs 413.51 crore, according to the report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on PSUs for year ending March 2018. The report was tabled in the assembly on Tuesday.
While major contributors to the profits were Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (Rs 212.14 crore) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Rs 84.77 crore), big losses were incurred by Raichur Power Corporation Limited (Rs 1,562.76 crore), Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (Rs 312.84 crore) and Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (Rs 140.28 crore).
According to the report, power PSUs earned net aggregate profits of Rs 372.60 crore, Rs 422.87 crore and Rs 19.25 crore during 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively. They incurred net aggregate losses of Rs 533.59 crore and Rs 1,606.58 crore during 2013-14 and 2017-18, respectively.
“The main reason for losses during 2017-18, as compared to profits during previous years, was the big loss posted by Raichur Power Corporation Limited,” the report stated. As the PSUs incurred losses, the government’s investment grew significantly.
“It went up by 41.86 percent from Rs 8,791.63 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 12,471.92 crore in 2017-18,” the report said. It also highlighted that the return on investment was negative during 2013-14 due to the loss incurred by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited in 2013-14, and due to loss in Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited and decrease in profits by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited in 2017-18.
On the Yeramarus Thermal Power Station under Raichur Power Corporation Limited, the report said that despite an investment of Rs 12,915.90 crore, because of the project’s cost and time overruns, the electricity companies had to procure 22,283 million units of short/medium term power to meet the deficit from 2014-15 to 2017-18, which otherwise would have been met by the YTPS project. The additional cost incurred on the purchase of power was Rs 2,517.92 crore, it said.