NTPC unit's non-payment notice to Delhi discoms

Aravali Power Company Pvt Ltd (APCPL) located in the Jhajjar district of Haryana, owned and operated by NTPC, has issued a notice to Reliance Infrastructure's distribution companies (discoms) in New Delhi for non-payment of dues. It has threatened to cut off 445 mega watts (Mw) of power supply if the payment is not made before the coming Monday.

The notice said BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) have been irregular in payment of their energy bills to NTPC. The total amount owed is Rs 961 crore — Rs 695 crore & Rs 266 crore by BRPL and BYPL, respectively.

The power allocated from APCPL to BRPL and BYPL is 372 Mw & 73 Mw, respectively, and the average monthly energy bill is Rs 87 crore at present.

"Payments by the BSES discoms had become irregular for quite some time. The matter was brought before the Supreme Court, which in their judgement dated March 26, 2014, directed these to ensure payments of all current energy bills with effect from January 1, 2014. However, despite these clear directions, the dues continue to accumulate," stated NTPC.

In a meeting convened by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission in May, both BRPL & BYPL had given a plan for liquidation of pending dues. Based on which, an earlier notice issued by APCPL on May 6 was withdrawn.

NTPC said APCPL has to pay in advance to its own fuel suppliers, 70 to 60 per cent of its monthly energy bill. If the situation continued, APCPL, being a single power station company, would be unable to meet any of its commitments — payment to fuel suppliers, debt servicing requirements and even payment of salaries to employees.

"Under the circumstances, APCPL has no other option but to regulate (meaning, to cut) power on the BSES discoms. A notice for regulation of supply has been served on BRPL & BYPL, which will deprive Delhi of 445 Mw from midnight of September 5," said NTPC.

BSES stated it was under huge financial stress due to non-liquidation of regulatory assets estimated at over Rs 16,000 crore as on end-March.

"The case of payment of dues to power utilities by BSES discoms is pending in the Supreme Court. BSES discoms are also making concerted endeavours to address the situation and clear pending dues in a just and equitable manner. Moreover, we have sufficient power at our disposal and the regulation will not have any impact whatsoever on the power supply situation in the city," it said.