The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) on Saturday presented a long wish-list to chief minister Yogi Adityanath during a high-level meeting convened by him at his official residence.
The corporation requested him to bail it out of a financial crisis by injecting a powerful dose of financial assistance.
It said that it required financial assistance of ₹18,000 crore during the current financial year and ₹12,000 crore immediately to bridge the cash gap caused by various factors, including non-payment of electricity bills by government departments.
The chief minister held the meeting to review the financial status of UPPCL and its subsidiary distribution companies (discoms).
Energy minister Shrikant Sharma, chief secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari, additional chief secretary (energy) Alok Sinha, additional chief secretary (finance) Radha Chauhan, chairman M Devraj and managing director Pankaj Kumar were among those present in the meeting.
The CM, according to an official who attended the meeting, directed the officials to find ways to pull UPPCL out of the immediate financial crisis, but at the same time he also asked the UPPCL to increase its income by plugging in leakages and improving billing efficiency.
In a detailed presentation made to the CM, the energy department officials pointed out that UPPCL’s cumulative deficit stood at ₹90,500 crore which included ₹81,612.07 crore debt liabilities and ₹24,461 crore power purchase liabilities. The corporation, it was told, also had to pay ₹3,000 crore to the coal companies.
{{/usCountry}}In a detailed presentation made to the CM, the energy department officials pointed out that UPPCL’s cumulative deficit stood at ₹90,500 crore which included ₹81,612.07 crore debt liabilities and ₹24,461 crore power purchase liabilities. The corporation, it was told, also had to pay ₹3,000 crore to the coal companies.
{{/usCountry}}“The UPPCL needs an immediate financial assistance of ₹12,000 from the government to have cash flow,” it was said in the presentation.
The officials sought the CM’s help for payment of ₹9,847 power dues pending against various government departments. It was told that the urban development department alone had bills worth ₹4808 crore pending against it.
The officials requested the CM that the remaining amount of ₹2,850 crore in the ₹14,500 crore budget sanctioned to the energy department for 2021-22 be released. The UPPCL said that it would require additional government funds of ₹20,681 crore because power tariff, as directed by the government, was not increased this year.
UPPCL also enumerated its achievements to the chief minister in the presentation. The corporation, the officials said, met the highest power demand for 23,867 MW on September 16, 2020 against the previous highest demand for 16,110 MW recorded on March 31, 2017.