Judging from latest government data, outstanding dues of discoms continued their year-on-year declining trend in May 2021.
Data pertaining to April 2021 was released on the PRAAPTI portal recently. Here are some highlights:
The total dues of discoms, as of May 31, 2021, stood at Rs.82,366 crore. This level was 15 per cent lower than the comparable Rs.97,050 crore of 2020. There has been a consistent year-on-year decline in total dues of discoms observed over the past 6-8 months.
- This outstanding amount includes “current dues” and “overdue” amounts. A current due becomes “overdue” when it remains unpaid for a period of 45 days or more, which is the grace period.
- It is also interesting to note that the “overdue” amount as of May 31, 2021 was nearly 19 per cent lower than that on May 31, 2020.
- Current dues (outstanding for less than 45 days) of discoms stood at Rs.13,535 crore as of May 301 2021, up by nearly 9 per cent from Rs.12,424 crore. This year-on-year increase is a reversal of trend seen in the recent past.
- The amount billed by generators to power discoms was Rs.63,121 crore in May 2021. This was 14 per cent lower than in May 2020. This decline reflects many phenomena. The month of May 2020 was marked by a near-total national lockdown, adversely affecting power consumption—especially by the small/medium industrial sector and the commercial segment. Also, discoms have been purchasing cheaper electricity from power exchanges, resulting in lower billing amount.
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- The total payment made by discoms to power generators stood at Rs.11,873 crore in May 2021. This was as much as 50 per cent higher than the Rs.7,896 crore worth of bills cleared by discoms in May 2020. This increase also reflects lower billings in May 2020, owing to the lockdown.
- Of the total Rs.11,873 crore of payment made by discoms to generators in May 2021, as much as 77 per cent was towards clearing overdue amounts. This phenomenon, if persists, will result in a gradual decline in total outstanding amount of discoms.
