CESC officials, however pointed out that they have so far restrained from taking a retaliatory action by cutting off power supply to the Calcutta Tramways, dozens of municipalities and state government offices, which have defaulted much more than the Rs 60 crore due from CESC.
The Board's action, CESC officials say, was prompted by the state power department with which it has a rather strained relationship. It feels that the issue has to be sorted out at the state government level as the Board cannot take any independent decision.
CESC, company officials said, has been the board's best paymaster for the last four decades. Yet, the board is regulating supply for a default of just about Rs 60 crore.
The fuel surcharge portion of the outstandings cannot be paid till the state government allows the company to recover the same from its own consumers. So, the real outstanding is a small sum of Rs 12 crore which remains unpaid for less than two weeks. The amount is part of the bill for WBSEB export to CESC in June and was payable on August 20.
CESC officials ask how the Board was treating its other consumers who together have left over Rs 300 crore of energy bills outstanding for years. The board's dues, they say, will be more than wiped out only if the state government consumers including the municipalities, departments and the Calcutta Tramways cleared their dues.
CESC sources thought that the Board's decision to regulate the supply at the Belur point out of four CESC import points was aimed at hurting the company. The imported power at Belur is consumed mostly by large industrial consumers who pay a high rate of tariff. Had the supply been regulated at Kasba in south Calcutta, the powercuts would have affected a predominantly low-tariff residential area sparking off small consumer protest. The denial of 50 mw at Belur is causing more revenue loss to CESC than it could be at Kasba.
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There is another reason why the Board has chosen Belur as the regulating point. It is through this inter-connection that the CESC network is connected to the eastern region grid.
If the company tries to overdraw, the Board will be free to cut off supply at this point which will make a large part of the CESC network unstable.
CESC sources wondered how WBSEB was resorting to an action like supply regulation after it had severely criticised the Power Grid Corporation for regulation of its supply to the board in north Bengal some months back. The regulation forced the board to clear some of its outstanding to PGCL and agree to a future payment schedule to clear off dues.
CESC also trots out the board's argument that large outstandings piled up by its consumers prevented the board from paying up the PGCL dues. However, when the real fight is against the state government, CESC is preparing for a long fight.