Electricity distribution companies are facing huge challenges of maintaining round a-clock electricity supply without fail to all consumers in the ongoing covid-19 crisis. To overcome liquidity and cash flow issues, government of India has announced ₹90,000 crore financial packages for distribution companies (discoms). Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will infuse the liquidity by raising an amount of about ₹90,000 crore from the market against the receivables of discoms. This one-time liquidity infusion will be used to pay the central public sector power generation companies, transmission companies, independent power producers and renewable energy generators. The lockdown led to reduction in power demand of 20% to 25% on account of shutdown of commercial and industrial establishments. As power bills fells, discoms ran into trouble and about 7-8 states imposed force majeure absolving themselves from payment of even fixed charges to generators.
