Stressed power companies told to use cash surplus to pare debt

MUMBAI: The power ministry has notified that certain stressed power plants would have to use their cash surplus after meeting operating expenses to service debt through a Trust Retention Account (TRA) managed by the lead banker to the project, as part of the stress reduction measure for the thermal power sector.

For developers using coal linkage under the amended Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India (SHAKTI), a TRA should be set up, if it is not there already, as per an office memorandum issued on Monday. It said the entire revenue from generators would be deposited to the TRA, which will then be used to pay different stakeholders.