Power gencos outstanding dues on discoms jumps 63pc to nearly Rs 39K cr in March

The outstanding dues of power producers on distribution utilities soared by 63 per cent to Rs 38,696 crore in March 2019 compared to the same month year ago, reflecting stress in the sector.

According to PRAAPTI portal, distribution companies owed a total of Rs 23,699 crore to power generation companies in March 2018.

The portal was launched in May 2018 to bring in transparency in power purchase transactions between generators and discoms.

In March this year, total overdue amount, which was not cleared even after 60 days of grace period offered by generators, stood at Rs 24,689 crore against Rs 15,585 crore in the same month in 2018.

Power producers give 60 days time to discoms for paying bills for the supply of electricity. After that the outstanding becomes overdue and generators charge penal interest on that in most of the cases.

However, the data on the portal indicates that the outstanding, as well as overdue amount, have decreased over the preceding month. In February 2019, the .