Damodar Valley Corporation, eastern India’s largest power generation utility, on Friday said non-payment of electricity dues by Jharkhand may halt its operations in the next couple of days.

“At present, DVC is not in a position to provide funds for payment to coal companies due to non-receipt of more than ₹8,000 crore till July,” said a release by the corporation. Jharkhand has not even been paying the monthly electricity bill of ₹160 crore, the statement added.

Bihar (of which Jharkhand was formerly a part) along with West Bengal and the Centre promoted the statutory organisation in 1948.

The under-recovery of dues has seriously impacted Damodar Valley Corporation’s ability to pay for fuel. The utility has defaulted in paying over ₹1,403 crore to coal companies, forcing the miners to restrict supply.

In this “compelling situation”, power generation has become uncertain, and may lead to widespread load-shedding in the valley area, the release said.

Damodar Valley Corporation has an installed capacity of 6,357 MW from six coal-based and three hydro-based power stations in West Bengal and Jharkhand. The share of hydro-electricity in total generation is minuscule.

The corporation also has a joint venture with Tata Power.

Set up on the lines of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the US, Damodar Valley Corporation is India’s first multi-purpose river valley project.

Apart from power generation, it manages a number of barrages on the Damodar river and its tributaries for flood control and canal irrigation in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

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