State-run power distribution companies (discoms) are holding back payments to electricity generators for as long as one-and-a-half years, information available in the Union power ministry’s ‘Praapti’ portal shows. Power generators usually raise bills between 5 to 15 days after the end of every month and discoms are supposed to pay them within 30 days or at best 60 days. But while discoms are clearing their bills – they are waiting for as long as they can to do so. In March, for instance, they cleared bills worth Rs 30,438 crore.
Delaying payments to generators help cash-strapped discoms manage their working capital cycles and avoid costly working capital loans. But it is taking a toll on power generators which need to pay for coal in advance and service their debt obligations
