State-run NTPC ltd has decided to snap power supply to BSES discoms in eastern and central parts of Delhi from Sunday midnight because of non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 961.58 crore. Meanwhile, BSES responded that thay have “sufficient power at their disposal” and the regulation will not have any impact whatsoever on the power supply situation in the city.
In a statement issued on Thursday, NTPC ltd said, “A notice for regulation of power supply has been served on the BRPl & BYPl which will deprive Delhi of 445 MW of power with effect from 00:00 hrs of September 5, 2016… Despite clear directions of the Supreme Court, the dues continued to accumulate. Today, the outstanding amounts are Rs 961.58 crore (Rs 695.25 crore of BRPl & Rs 266.33 crore of (BYPl).”
The company said that the payments by the BSES discoms (power distribution companies) had become irregular for quite some time.
Meanwhile, in a statement, BSES spokesperson said that BSES is under huge financial stress due to non liquidation of regulatory assets estimated to be over Rs 16,000 crore as on March 31, 2016. “As compared to this, dues payable by BSES to Aravali Power Company Private limited (APCl) are around Rs 900 crore. The payment of dues to power utilities by BSES discoms is sub judice in the Supreme Court. The judgement in the matter is reserved since February 2015. We are awaiting the Supreme Court judgement, which will clear the path for recovery / liquidation of regulatory assets. BSES discoms are also making concerted endeavour to address the situation and clear pending dues in a just and equitable manner,” the spokesperson added.
NTPC ltd’s arm Aravali Power Company Pvt ltd (APCPl), Jhajjar has been supplying power since March 5, 2011 to BSES Rajdhani Power ltd (BRPl) and BSES Yamuna Power ltd (BYPl), jointly owned by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group and the Delhi Government.
The power allocated to these discoms from APCPl is 445 MW (372 MW to BRPl and 73 MW to BYPl) and average monthly energy bill is about Rs 87 crore (Rs 73 crore to BRPl & Rs 14 crore to BYPl) for the current financial year.
The matter was brought before the Supreme Court of India, which in its judgement dated March, 26, 2014 directed the BSES discoms to ensure payments of all current energy bills from January 1, 2014.
However, the company said that despite clear directions of the Supreme Court, the dues continued to accumulate.
In a meeting taken by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on May, 16, 2016, both BRPl and BYPl had given plan for liquidation of outstanding dues based on which regulation notice issued by APCPl earlier on May 6, 2016 was withdrawn.
The company said that APCPl has to pay in advance to its fuel suppliers which constitute about 70-80 per cent of its monthly energy bills.
"If the above situation continues, APCPl being a single power station company is unable to meet any of its commitments inter alia including payment to fuel suppliers, debt servicing requirements and even payment of salaries to its employees. under the circumstances, APCPl has no other option but to regulate power on the BSES discoms," it added.