As many as 13 states could soon be left fumbling in the dark after being barred from buying and selling on power exchange platforms till they clear their dues to power plants.
Among them are Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh.
Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) has asked three power exchanges — Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange of India (PXIL), and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX) — to restrict electricity trading by 27 distribution companies (discoms) to these states having outstanding dues towards gencos, sources said. The move could make power outages more common in the affected states.
The total pending dues of state discoms to gencos are Rs 5,085 crore.
POSOCO, a public sector enterprise under the Union power ministry, manages the integrated operation of the Indian power system. This is the first time over a dozen states have been barred together.
The development comes against the backdrop of the rules framed by the ministry of power for non-payment of dues by the discoms and gencos. The move, under the new Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) rules, will be applicable from August 19.
The LPS rules bar discoms from power exchanges if they don’t pay pending dues to gencos for over seven months. Discoms from the 13 states will attract action under the new Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Rules.
Sources said while similar instances have occurred in the past, too, the restrictions were put on a few states and removed in sometime after they cleared their dues in a matter of days.
(With agency inputs)
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here
Comments
0 comment