Telangana’s power utilities in alarming financial condition, says Congress white paper on power

Telangana government termed the financial health of the State-run power utilities as alarming, with debts of Discoms being Rs 81,516 crore and accumulated loses of Discoms rising to Rs 62,461 crore as on October 31, 2023

Hyderabad: The State government termed the financial health of the State-run power utilities as alarming, with debts of Discoms being Rs 81,516 crore and accumulated loses of Discoms rising to Rs 62,461 crore as on October 31, 2023.

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Tabling a 30-page White Paper on power in the State Assembly on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said of the total debts incurred by the power sector, Rs 30,406 crore was the day-to-day working capital loan taken to pay dues to the generators that supplied the electricity. Apart from this, dues of Rs. 28,673 crore were yet to be paid to power generation and supply companies, he said.

According to the white paper, the main reason why the Discoms were facing so many difficulties in electricity procurement was dues of Rs. 28,842 crore which have not been paid by various departments of the State government for years. Out of this total arrears, the arrears of the irrigation department alone are Rs. 14,193 crore. Apart from this, the burden of Rs. 14,928 crore which the previous government had promised to pay to the Discoms under the actual adjustment costs of power purchase (True up charges) further weakened the financial position of the Discoms.

At the time of formation of Telangana State, the installed power generation capacity was 7,778 MW, which increased to 19,475 MW by December 2023. Similarly, the solar power capacity in 2014 was 74 MW, which increased to 6,123 MW in the last nine years.