Discoms owe over Rs 1,000 crore: NHPC

State-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is yet to receive dues of over Rs 1,000 crore from various power distribution companies, forcing the power producer to regulate supply at a time when the country is facing acute electricity shortage.

NHPC Chairman and Managing Director A B L Srivastava said the health of discoms is a matter of concern for the company.

“Discoms are yet to pay more than Rs 1,000 crore for the electricity purchases from NHPC. These include discoms from Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

According to Srivastava, this amount has not yet been classified as non-performing assets.

Another NHPC official said most of the dues were to come from discoms in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi’s two discoms — BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna — are to pay around Rs 335 crore while UP discom has dues of about Rs 400 crore.

Dues from Rajasthan discom is around Rs 100 crore while that from Bihar is about Rs 50 crore, the official noted.

The poor financial health of power distribution companies (Discoms) remains a major concern for the sector as many entities are unable to pay for purchase of electricity from power generators, affecting mass consumers.