Latest news with #Discom
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Who will foot this Rs 4,700 crore bill?
Bhopal: In the run-up to the 2023 assembly elections, the Madhya Pradesh govt had suspended electricity bills for over 88 lakh consumers just a month before the polls. Nearly two years have passed, it still remains unclear who will bear the burden of Rs 4,700 crore poll freebie 'Bijili Bill Maafi'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While regular billing resumed from October (in 2023) onwards, the dues for September 2023 —amounting to a staggering Rs 4700 crore— remain unpaid and in limbo, with no clarity on who will ultimately bear the financial burden. Of these Rs 4700 crores, central discom owns around Rs 2500 crores, east discom owns around Rs 1080 crores, and the remaining amount of around Rs 1,000 crores is of the west discom. Ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, the then CM had announced that electricity bills would be zero next month. In September 2023, bills of electricity consumers were zero. However, the govt had not clarified then whether it would be paid to the discoms by the govt or it would have to be written-off by the discoms. The bills were simply 'suspended' and remain suspended till now. The bills of around 88 lakh consumers from across the three discoms—central discom, west discom, and east discom— were suspended then. An official said, "The decision on it is yet to be taken by the govt. What will happen to the outstanding suspended bills has not been decided yet." Recently, the state govt instructed the discoms to analyse the data regarding the payment patterns of these consumers whose bills were suspended then. "Bills for September 2023 were suspended. Thereafter, regular bills were generated as usual. Now we are analysing the data of the consumers to see whether they continued to pay their bills after September 2023. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now How many consumers have not been paying bills since then, etc.," said an official from one of the three discoms. Neeraj Mandloi, additional chief secretary (energy) could not be contacted to comment on the issue. This waiver was not new, as the govt has been doing the same in past elections too. Before the 2018 assembly polls, the govt launched 'Mukyamantri Bakaya Bill Maafi Yojana'—for waiving off due electricity bills. The losses caused by the scheme to the discoms were pointed out by the MP auditor general in its report tabled in 2022 to be around Rs 3700 crores. Similarly, before the 2013 assembly elections, the govt launched Deenbandhu Yojana and waived off the electricity bills of BPL consumers that were outstanding till June 30, 2013. Discom sources say that these are numerical losses, but what is more concerning is the behavioural change in consumers. Whenever there is such a waiver, it takes years to bring about positive changes, but by that time, there is another election, sources said. Pre-Poll Waivers Before 2023 Assembly Polls: Outstanding electricity bills of all consumers under 1 kilowatt category till August have been suspended. Before 2018 Assembly Polls: 'Mukyamantri Bakaya Bill Maafi Yojana' and 'Saral Bijli Scheme' for BPL consumers and for labourers registered under the Sambal scheme were launched, and bills of both segments were waived off. Before 2013 Assembly Polls: Deenbandhu Yojana was launched, and all outstanding electricity bills of BPL consumers till June 30, 2013, were waived off. MSID:: 122767293 413 |
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Deputy CM asks SPDCL to adopt modern tech, raise consumer awareness on power services
HYDERABAD Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka has asked the senior engineers and Directors of the Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Ltd (TGSPDCL) to adopt modern technology that align with the evolving needs of consumers in the digital era and improve the delivery of services. In a meeting with the officials of the Southern Discom here on Tuesday, Mr. Vikramarka, who handles the portfolios of Energy and Finance, told them to expedite the complete implementation of the Feeder Outage Management System (FOMS), which would ensure real-time alerts to the control room whenever there was a power supply disruption. The Discom officials explained to the Deputy Chief Minister that FOMS had already been implemented across 5,500 of the 6,500 feeders under the SPDCL limits. The Deputy CM told them to integrate the remaining feeders into the system swiftly. He congratulated the Discom for earning the ISO 9000 certification, acknowledging it as a commendable achievement based on performance in areas such as operations, consumer service delivery and timely clearance of office files/resolution of grievances. He encouraged officials to continue improving and aim for more such awards in the future. Mr. Vikramarka also reviewed the new dress code designed for field staff and offered suggestions for its implementation. He stated that Directors were appointed based on their extensive experience and proven capabilities and asked them to create and implement an action plan to complete the long-pending tasks within their respective domains. He noted that new transformers and sub-stations were being set up as soon as the load on the existing ones reached 70%, ensuring uninterrupted power supply through advanced planning. He stated that a comprehensive solar power strategy would soon be rolled out, and instructed department staff to be fully prepared for its implementation. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary of the Energy department Naveen Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of TGSPDCL Md. Musharraf Faruqui along with Directors and senior engineers.
Hindustan Times
19-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Greater Noida: Man dozes on duty, causing feeder outage; suspended
GREATER NOIDA: A technician posted at a 33/11 kV power substation in Greater Noida has been suspended after being allegedly found asleep on duty, leading to an unnecessary feeder shutdown and disruption in power supply, said Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Noida Zone, officials on Wednesday. Rahul Chaudhary, was deployed at the Ithaira power substation as sub-station operator, under the electricity distribution subdivision of Greater Noida, they added. Discom officials said that on June 8 night, he unnecessarily switched off 11kV(kilovolt) feeder number 5 at the substation. When consumers and the sub-divisional officer (SDO) tried to contact the substation's department to inquire about the outage, Chaudhary did not respond. Around 2.50am, as the SDO inspected the substation Chaudhary was found asleep. 'During a surprise inspection on June 8 around midnight, the staffer posted at 33/11 kV Itaihara substation was found asleep while an 11kV feeder had been unnecessarily shut down, affecting power supply to consumers. His conduct reflected negligence and violation of service norms. He has now been suspended pending further inquiry,' said Rahul Sharma, executive engineer, electricity distribution division, Greater Noida. Additionally, the log sheet reportedly contained no entry regarding the feeder shutdown or any details post 11pm, raising concerns about negligence and dereliction of duty. Officials said that the department observed that power outage due to staffer's actions not only disrupted supply to consumers but also tarnished the department's image. It found Chaudhary prima-facie guilty of negligence, failure to perform his responsibilities, and in violation of rule 3 of the Uttar Pradesh Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1956 (breach of conduct expected by employees. 'During suspension, Chaudhary will remain attached to the 33/11 kV Bhatta substation and will be entitled to subsistence allowance as per rules. However, this payment will be subject to his submission of a certificate declaring that he is not engaged in any employment, trade, or profession during the suspension period,' Sharma added.
Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Indian Express
Discoms: Power theft by e-rickshaws leads to losses of Rs 120 cr a yr
E-rickshaws in Delhi cause power losses of up to Rs 120 crore each year, officials from the city's power distribution companies said. According to sources, there are around 1.6 lakh e-rickshaws plying in Delhi but only about 50,000 are registered. 'In Delhi, it is estimated that over 60% of e-rickshaws are involved in power theft, resulting in a loss of 15-20 MW across the city, translating to an annual loss of around Rs 120 crore… This not only causes revenue loss but also leads to safety hazards,' said a senior official. On Sunday, two men were killed in a fire that broke out at a house in East Delhi's Dilshad Garden while two e-rickshaws were being charged. Last week, fire had erupted at an e-rickshaw charging station in the Ghonda in Northeast Delhi. Discom officials said the rickshaws were charged in batches 'as part of an organised illegal network controlled by local strongmen'. 'E-rickshaw owners/drivers pay a fixed fee of Rs 200-300 per day per e-rickshaw to the parking and charging mafia… The operators use illegal wiretapping from low-voltage mains to steal electricity. Some strongmen own several e-rickshaws and rent them to drivers,' said a senior discom official. Some of the areas where frequent power thefts by e-rickshaws have been witnessed across the city are Mandawali, Minto Road,Karol Bagh, Jama Masjid. Sangam Vihar, Batla House, Sarai Kale Khan, Tagore Garden, Paschim Vihar, Civil Lines, Mukherjee Nagar, and Narela. 'E-rickshaws are not dangerous; however, their illegal charging through direct theft and the use of sub-standard batteries are significant safety hazards. Exposed electricity wires left open during illegal charging and non-adherence to safety standards often cause sparks and short circuits. These exposed live wires also pose a danger to the public, especially children playing in these areas during the daytime. Such open wires have led to electrocutions in the past,' said officials. Officials said that this also leads to stress on the existing network causing possible breakdowns and voltage issues, inconveniencing other consumers in the area. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has a special tariff category for e-rickshaw charging at Rs 4.50 per unit to encourage legal connections.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
EVs, green hydrogen, data centres to catalyse India's electricity demand in next 5 years: ICRA
A trifecta of accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption, green hydrogen (GH), and an increase in data centre capacity is expected to significantly catalyse electricity demand between FY26 and FY30, according to ICRA. The electricity demand in India over the next five years will achieve a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6-6.5 per cent, higher than the nearly 5 per cent CAGR achieved in the last 10 years, driven by the abovementioned three sectors, the ratings agency said in a research note, which ETAuto has reviewed. 'These three segments are expected to contribute to 20-25 per cent of the incremental demand over the next five-year period from FY26 to FY30. The growth in demand for grid capacity is expected to be offset to some extent, by the rising adoption of rooftop solar and off-grid projects, driven by schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana,' said Vikram V, vice president & co-group head (corporate ratings), ICRA. For the EV, in particular, ICRA said the sector is expected to witness an increase in penetration across the segments, primarily led by the adoption of three-wheelers, followed by two-wheelers, e-buses, and passenger vehicles. Regarding GH, ICRA said it considered a gradual scale-up in capacity, given the relatively higher cost of GH against grey hydrogen currently. 'While a major portion of the incremental demand is expected to be met through increase in the renewable energy (RE) capacity, the Central and state governments are encouraging new thermal power projects to ensure sufficient buffer in the installed capacity to meet the growing demand,' ICRA said. The ratings agency has projected a modest 5–5.5per cent growth in electricity demand in FY26, lower than the country's expected GDP growth of 6.5per cent, attributing it to an early monsoon that is likely to affect demand for cooling and for agricultural activities. Though this marks an improvement over the 4.2 per cent growth seen in FY25, it falls short of the 8 per cent growth between FY22 and FY24. Despite renewable energy driving most of the upcoming 44 GW power capacity addition in FY26, coal-based capacity is also expected to grow by 9–10 GW as a buffer. This dual strategy reflects government efforts to ensure grid reliability while managing clean energy transitions, said ICRA. Discom finances remain a concern amid EV-driven load increase Distribution companies (discoms), which are key to delivering reliable charging infrastructure, continue to face financial strain. Discom debt rose to ₹7.4 trillion by March 2024, and tariff hikes remain subdued. ICRA projects the all-India cash gap at 35 paise per unit for FY2026 and maintains a negative outlook on the distribution segment. 'ICRA's outlook for the power distribution segment remains Negative amid limited tariff hikes and continued lossmaking operations. The progress in the smart metering programme along with the timely implementation of fuel & power purchase cost adjustment framework would play an important role in improving the discom finances, going forward,' said Vikram V.
