Telangana Hyderabad - Discoms Suffer 6K Crores Loss due to KCR Govt?
Through the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) entered into with chhattisgarh, the BRS government led by K Chandrashekar Rao caused the telangana Discoms to suffer losses exceeding Rs 6,000 crore. Official sources state that the Discoms suffered losses exceeding expectations with chhattisgarh power. Although the agreements stipulate that the price per unit is only Rs 3.90, the purchase of electricity has left the State power companies high and dry.
17,996 million units of electricity were bought from chhattisgarh in total. There were Rs 1,081 crore in outstanding payments to chhattisgarh and Rs 7,719 crore in total payments made to the State thus far. If one were to compute the entire cost of the transmission line charges—which amounted to Rs 1,362 crore—the cost per unit would be Rs 5.64. The computation shows that the rise in fees on top of the contract rate results in an extra cost of almost Rs 3,110 crore.
There is still no resolution to the two States' disagreement over arrears. While telangana claims that just Rs 1,081 crore was owed, firms in chhattisgarh indicate that Rs 1,715 crore is still unpaid. Regarding the dues issue, the chhattisgarh electricity Appellate Tribunal has lodged a complaint. Since the end of 2017, power has become provided in Chhattisgarh. Since the start, there has only ever been a restricted supply; 1,000 MWs have never connected without issue. As the anticipated supply from there declined, the telangana Discoms were forced to purchase electricity on the open market. With this, there was an extra 2,083 crore of burden from 2017 to 2022.
In april 2022, the electrical supply was cut off. However, in order to import power from chhattisgarh, telangana needed to reserve a 1,000 MW corridor with the Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL). Power firms also provided coverage for the area. As per the terms of the agreement, PGCIL is obligated to cover the supply charges whether or not power is purchased. The extra costs were Rs 638 crore, even after accounting for this computation.
Furthermore, there was further loss as a result of the previous government's reservation of corridors. Even if a 1,000 MW corridor was all that was needed, it wasn't essential to reserve a further 1,000 MW in advance. The corridor was abandoned halfway through by chhattisgarh because there was no chance of obtaining electricity. There was enough harm done in the interim. The PGCIL sent notifications to the Discoms requesting compensation in the amount of Rs 261 crore. This issue resulted from the corridor deal being made without sufficient information.
The power purchase agreement has not yet received permission from the telangana ERC. There are also claims that payments to chhattisgarh totaling thousands of millions that were made without the ERC's consent ought to be regarded as indirect payments.