Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged the long standing issue of dues owed by States to various Gencos and Discoms, which has hit a whopping ₹2.5 lakh crore.

Speaking at an event after launching the over ₹3 lakh crore Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Prime Minister Modi emphasised that health of the electricity sector is not a matter of politics. “In politics, people should have the courage to tell the truth, but we see that some States try to avoid it,” he added.

Losses in double digits

The Prime Minister pointed out that Discom losses are in double digits, whereas in developed countries it is in single digits. This means that India wastes a lot of electricity and therefore it has to generate more electricity than it needs to meet the demand. He said there is a lack of investment in reducing distribution and transmission losses in many States.

Pointing out that different States have outstanding dues of more than ₹1 lakh crore, Modi said, Discoms are owed more than ₹60 thousand crore from many government departments, and local bodies.

Further, these companies are not able to get even the money that has been committed for subsidy on electricity in different States on time and in full. This arrear is also more than ₹75,000 crore. The Prime Minister said around ₹2.50 lakh crore is owed to those responsible for activities ranging from generation(Gencos) to door-to-door delivery of power(Discoms).

Requesting States with pending dues to clear them as soon as possible, Modi urged them to “honestly” consider the reason that when the countrymen can pay their electricity bills honestly, why do some States have arrears again and again? He stressed this is not a matter of “Rajniti” but of “Rashtra Niti” and nation building.

Revamping Discoms

The Prime Minister Modi participated in the grand finale event marking the culmination of ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya–Power @2047’ via video conferencing. He launched the RDSS scheme and interacted with the beneficiaries of various schemes.

Remembering the poor state of power scenario before 2014, he noted that in the last 8 years, about 1,70,000 megawatt (MW) of electricity generation capacity has been added in the country. One Nation One Power Grid has become the strength of the country today. About 1,70,000 circuit kilometre transmission lines have been laid to connect the entire country.

Besides, by giving 3 crore connections under the Saubhagya Scheme, India is also nearing the saturation goal, he added.

Welcoming the development, Hitachi Energy MD & CEO (India & South Asia), N Venu said, “A successful green energy transition is critically dependent on healthy Discoms as they are the demand drivers. RDSS can provide the necessary impetus for Discoms to reduce their losses by upgrading their network. Digitalisation of power infrastructures ensures safer, more reliable electricity transmission across the country, contributing to decarbonisation of the electricity network.”

RDSS is aimed at improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of Discoms and Power departments. It has an outlay of over ₹3 lakh crore over a period of five years from FY22 to FY26. It also seeks to reduce AT&C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15 per cent and the ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply-Average Revenue Realized) gap to zero by 2024-25.

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