The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited has paid Rs 5,250 crore, which is half of the outstanding dues to sugar mills with co-generators in the state, for 2019-20.
The dues were cleared after the power distribution company received money from Power Finance Corporation Limited and Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, both Central PSUs.
As part of an economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, PFC and REC would together extend credit of Rs 9,000 crore to power distribution companies, enabling them to clear the dues.
Apart from producing sugar, some private sugar mills in the country’s largest sugar producing state also co-generate electricity for their captive use and sell the surplus electricity to UPPCL at fixed tariff.
As of March 31 this year, UPPCL’s total outstanding power dues to sugar mills were Rs 10,500 crore.
“Whatever money comes out is beneficial because ultimately it is going to sugarcane farmers and cane dues will reduce by that much. We are not sure as to when we will be getting the rest of the 50 per cent,” said an official of UPPCL.
The Centre, ahead of sanctioning the relief package for the power sector, has set preconditions like installation of smart meters at all government department power consumers. The next instalment of the loan by the PFC is likely to be released as soon as the smart meters are installed.
A week ago, power supply to over five lakh consumers had tripped where the smart meters were installed. The snag on Janmashtami had created a huge crisis for the UPPCL as it took over 24 hours to rectify the snag and restore the power supply. The UP government had handed over the probe to the Special Task Force of UP Police.
An official of the UPPCL said the power supply disruption was caused by some technical glitch somewhere, possibly in the software, and all smart meters had stopped functioning due to which the government had to face a lot of flak on that. He said that the matter was under investigation.
