Tangedco owes most to Central power PSUs

State power utility Tami Nadu Generation & Distribution Corporation Ltd (Tangedco) owes over Rs.10,000 crore to Central government-owned power PSUs, official statistics indicate.

According to a recent report by Central Electricity Authority, power distribution utilities (both private and government-owned) owed Rs.49,107 crore to Central government-owned power generation companies, as of August 31, 2020. This amount represents dues outstanding for over 45 days, and includes both principal and surcharge.

Tangedco has outstanding dues of Rs.10,788 crore, which stood for nearly 22 per cent of the aggregate outstanding dues of all utilities.

Of the total dues of Tangedco, nearly Rs.5,500 crore (or nearly 50 per cent) was payable to NLC India, formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.

Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL), the state government-owned power distribution utility, also had significant outstanding dues payable to Central government generators. JBVNL had dues of Rs.6,077 crore, as of August 31, 2020, most of which was payable to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL), the state government power utility looking after power distribution, had outstanding dues of Rs.6,487 crore, as of August 31, 2020. Almost half of this was due to NTPC. UPPCL also had significant payments pending towards THDC India.

The case with Jammu & Kashmir was similar. Power utilities of this Union territory owed a significant Rs.9,342 crore to Central power-sector PSUs, mainly NTPC which accounted for over half of these.

NTPC tops receivers’ list

From the perspective of Centrally-owned power generators, NTPC had the maximum outstanding receivables of Rs.15,601 crore, as of August 31, 2020. This accounted for a little less than one-third of the total outstanding amount of Central power-sector PSUs.

Next in order was NLC India that had aggregate outstanding receivables of Rs.7015 crore, much of which was payable by Tangedco. DVC and NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India) had receivables of Rs.6,910 crore and Rs.6,347 crore, respectively. (See tables above)

(Featured photograph for illustration only)