NTPC sets February 11 deadline for discoms

Delhiites might have got temporary respite from power outages as the power utility NTPC has given power discoms -- BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna -- deadline of February 11 to clear their dues.

If the two companies fail to clear the dues by then, the NTPC would suspend or regulate power supply to them, which could result in long hours of outages across the city, barring North Delhi.

The NTPC on Saturday served notices on both the discoms as they had not maintained letter of credit of adequate value, a prerequisite for getting power from the NTPC stations, officials said.

Since the discoms have not been able to provide the requisite payment security mechanism, notice for regulation of power supply for 90 days starting February 11 has been issued to both companies.

“Despite our repeated follow-up and meeting with senior officials of BSES Rajdhani, the company has not been able to give any letter of credit for the full value within seven days, which is a breach of PPA (power purchase agreement) provisions,” the NTPC said in a notice to BSES Rajdhani.

The officials said the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) empowers generation companies to regulate power supply in case letters of credit of adequate value, which are assurances of payment, are not maintained.

According to the NTPC, apart from letter of credit, there is a payment shortfall of Rs.96.07 crore on BSES Yamuna which, as per PPA provisions, should have been paid by January 31. In case the discoms fail to comply with the notice, several parts of Delhi face long hours of power outages. BSES Rajdhani distributes power in South and West Delhi, including Alaknanda, Vasant Kunj, Saket, Nehru Place, Nizamuddin, Sarita Vihar, Hauz Khas, R K Puram, Janakpuri, Punjabi Bagh, Tagore Garden, Vikas Puri, Palam and Dwarka.

Similarly, BSES Yamuna caters to areas in central and east Delhi, including Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj, Paharganj, Shankar Road, Patel Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar and Yamuna Vihar.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal slammed the discoms for announcing power cuts due to lack of funds.

“They (power companies) are saying that they don’t have money, so where has their money gone. Everything will come out in the CAG’s report. Then we would get to know whether they are really facing a financial crisis or not,” Mr. Kejriwal told reporters here.