Power discoms’ financial health still precarious, unrecoverable revenue gap at Rs 3 lakh crore

The financial health and operational performance of state-owned power distribution companies (discoms) remain under pressure due to a combination of factors including inadequate tariff hikes, high AT&C losses, mounting regulatory assets (RA) and large debt position, according to a new report.

As per Icra’s estimate and based on the tariff orders issued by the state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs), the RA position at all-India level remains elevated at around Rs. 3 lakh crore, mainly driven by the discoms of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Karnataka, with the first three states accounting for the bulk of the share.