Govt mulls investment fund to pay off discoms' dues towards gencos

The government is mulling an alternative investment fund to pay off discoms' dues towards power generation companies, a senior official said.

The payment of dues would help distribution companies (discoms) to increase their electricity load (supplies) and ensure 24X7 uninterrupted power supply.

According to government data, discoms owe Rs 92,602 crore to gencos as of February this year.

The creation of the fund assumes significance in view of lower power demand during the coronavirus lockdown. Electricity demand has reduced by a third during the lockdown.

"We are planning to create an alternative investment fund that will help to give load and financial support to discoms and clear the due to be paid to developers and generators. Our effort is to release maximum due payments from discoms to the power generators," Renewable Energy Secretary Anand Kumar said during a webinar.

 

The webinar was organised on Thursday by industry body PHDCCI on the renewable energy sector in the country.

Kumar said, "This crucial time has brought a lot of learning to the ministry as well as the countrymen. With the high usage of virtual platforms, we have increased our work efficiency to a great extent and now we can supply 160 gigawatts in the country. The 2022 goal of achieving 175 gigawatt will be achieved by us."

India has set an ambitious target of having 175GW of renewable energy by 2022.

"During COVID-19, we did not lessen our pace of working. We are working towards achieving our targets and achieving the goals set by the government.

"We want to make sure that our power supply and renewable power are protected and not compromised. We tried to clear all the financial dues of the generators and developers to enhance the capital available with them," Kumar added.

Meanwhile, PHDCCI President D K Aggarwal said 10 per cent of the sponsorship amount received for the webinar will be donated to the PM-CARES Fund.

Around 250 participants attended the webinar.