Holi in the dark?: NTPC threatens power-cuts for States as pending dues surpass ₹11,000 crore, says report

A host of States may face power-cuts on Holi as the National Thermal Power Ltd (NTPC) has threatened to cut supply owing to their outstanding dues amounting to more than ₹11,000 crore, the Financial Express reported on Friday.

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Assam, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur and Mizoram are some of the States that have received notices from the state-owned NTPC for defaulting on pending dues. A few States may risk power supply cuts from March 10 if the bills are not cleared soon, the report said.

The cumulative dues owed by States to NTPC have surpassed ₹11,000 crore, with the biggest defaulter being Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The Union Territory, which has received a notice for defaulting on dues amounting to ₹3,369.6 crore, is likely to get a relaxation from the notice according to the report.

NTPC, after trying to recover dues to no avail, has invoked provisions in the various power supply agreements which permit the company to curtail supply owing to defaults.

According to the Ministry of Power’s Prapti Portal, States’ outsranding dues to NTPC in January alone were ₹10,683.98 crore.

NTPC Ltd posted a net profit of ₹2,995.14 crore in the third quarter of FY20, up 25.5 per cent against ₹2,385.41 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.