The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have caused a further slippage in payment discipline among electricity consumers in several states, posing a renewed threat to the financial status of distribution utilities (discoms). Uttar Pradesh’s five electricity discoms, huddled under umbrella entity Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL), piled up an additional Rs 14,000 crore (40%) as over-dues to gencos during the first half of the current financial year. As a result, their over-dues to gencos rose from Rs 34,000 crore at end of FY20 to over Rs 37,000 crore by September end, despite these entities having paid Rs 10,500 crore received as soft loan from PFC-REC under a special liquidity facility to central sector gencos and private power producers.
