Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged the state governments to clear the outstanding dues to power generation and distribution companies, saying that unpaid dues have crippled the power companies. He made the comments while launching the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme of the power ministry, which aims to improve the quality, reliability and affordability of power supply to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector.
In his speech, PM Modi gave a special emphasis on the unpaid dues in the power sector and said that several states are trying to hide the issue instead of trying to solve it. He said that states are trying to push the issue to the future, aggravating the issue even more. The power sector is in a great crisis in several states due to such an approach, the PM said.
He said that when power sector in a state weakens, it affects the power sector of the country as a whole, and it makes pushes the future of that state towards darkness. He said that the losses in the distribution sector is in double digits, while the same in developed nations is in single digits, that too negligible.
The PM added that most of the time electricity companies have a crisis of funds, and they continue to use old transmission and distribution lines that cause high losses. As a result, the power becomes costlier for consumers. The PM said that while the generation companies are producing enough power, they also don’t have power, due to unpaid dues. Similarly, distribution companies have huge amounts due in various states.
PM Modi said that people will be shocked to hear that the states have outstanding dues of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. The states have to pay money to power generation companies for the power the states have already consumed, but now not paying price for the same. Additionally, several government departments and local bodies have dues to power distribution companies totalling more than Rs 60,000 crore.
Not just the dues of power used by themselves, but even the subsidies announced by various state governments to their citizens also remain unpaid. According to the prime minister, subsidy arrear at present stands at over Rs 75,000 crore.
Therefore, in total, around two and a half lakh crore rupees are trapped as unpaid dues, severely affecting the generation, transmission and distribution companies. Due to this, it has become difficult to invest for future requirements. ‘Are we going to force our future generations to live in darkness?’ the PM asked during his speech.
Saying that the private and public companies don’t get their dues, they will not grow and will not be able to produce power, the prime minister urged everyone to realise the gravity of the situation.
‘Everyone needs to wake up so that our country doesn’t fall into darkness. And therefore, I say, this is not a question of Rajneeti, but a question of Rashtraneeti and Rashtranirman, it is a question of protection of the entire system related to electricity,’ PM Modi said.
The power ministry also released data on power dues in this regard. The total dues of states and UTs towards the Gencos, excluding state-owned Gencos, are Rs 1,01,442 crore, of which dues to dues to CPSEs alone are Rs 26,397 crore. The dues of various departments of state governments are Rs 62,931 crore, and the amount of subsidy yet to be received by distribution companies from state governments is Rs 76,337 crore. Therefore, the total outstanding due to power generation and distribution companies by state governments stand at Rs 2,40,710 crore.
Among the states, Maharashtra (₹21,656 crore), Tamil Nadu (₹20,990 crore), Andhra Pradesh (₹10,109 Crore), Telangana (₹7,388 Crore), and Rajasthan (₹5,043 Crore), top the list of overdue towards generation companies.
Similarly, Telangana (₹11,935 crore), Maharashtra (₹9,131 crore), Andhra Pradesh (₹9,116 crore), Tamil Nadu (₹3,677 crore) lead in dues to DISCOMs.
On the other hand, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra and Chhattishgarh have huge amounts due towards subsidies.
The PM urged the states to clear the power dues as soon as possible. He said, “I request the states whose dues are pending, to clear them as soon as possible. Also, consider the reasons that even when the countrymen pay their electricity bills honestly, why do some states have arrears again and again?”
Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
The PM launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme of the power ministry today while participating in the Grand Finale of the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ via video conferencing. He also dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC, and launched the National Solar rooftop portal.
The Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme is a Reforms-based and Results-linked Scheme with an outlay of Rs.3,03,758 crore over a period of five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26. The Scheme aims to reduce the AT& C losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% and ACS-ARR gap to zero by 2024-25 by improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all DISCOMs/ Power Departments, excluding Private Sector DISCOMs. DISCOMs and Power Departments would be able to access funds under the Scheme for various purposes aimed at reducing loss and improving efficiency.
The PM said that Energy and power sectors have a huge role to play in accelerating India’s progress in the next 25 years. The strength of the energy sector is also important for Ease of Doing Business and is equally important for Ease of Living. He said that the projects launched today are significant steps in the direction of green energy and energy security for the county.
