Adani Transmission, in a recent release, observed that the collection scenario with respect to its power distribution business in Mumbai has improved significantly since July 2020, following relaxation in the COVID19-related lockdown in the city.
“Economic activity in Mumbai is picking up post relaxation in lockdown. We notice improvement in power demand in July 2020 and accordingly the collection scenario has improved substantially,” Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) said in a press statement.
During the lockdown-affected first quarter (April to June) of FY21, ATL maintained transmission availability of 99.9 per cent, and there was no adverse impact on billing.
However, the lockdown affected the power distribution business. Demand from commercial & industrial (C&I) consumers was muted but it was partly offset by a higher than usual demand from the residential sector.
The distribution losses increased during Q1 of FY21 due to provisional average billing during the lockdown period. However, the performance in the second quarter will not be as affected as meter readings are now permitted by authorities, and matters are getting streamlined, ATL said.
Performance of ATL’s T&D Business | |||
Q1 FY21 | Q1 FY20 | % chg | |
Transmission | |||
Average availability (%) | 99.90 | 99.93 | — |
Operational revenue (Rs.crore) | 680 | 668 | 1.8 |
Distribution | |||
Supply reliability (%) | 99.992 | 99.986 | — |
Distribution losses (%) | 13.47 | 7.78 | — |
Electricity sold (MU or million kwh) | 1,728 | 2,422 | -28.7 |
Revenue (Rs.crore) | 1,437 | 2,189 | -34.4 |
In financial terms, revenue from transmission operations stood at Rs.680 crore during Q1 of FY21, as against Rs.668 crore from the same period of FY20. On the other hand, operational revenue from the distribution business was Rs.1,437 crore in Q1FY21, down 34 per cent from Rs.2,189 crore in Q1FY20. The fall in distribution revenue was a combination of several factors including lower power demand, shortfall in collection due to lockdown, and inability of consumers to pay through physical channels.
Other key highlights of the power transmission business during Q1FY21 included acquisition of a transmission concession in Maharashtra, and signing of the share purchase agreement with Kalpataru Power Transmission for acquiring an existing transmission asset.