Power generation utilities owe Rs 12,028 crore to Coal India

CIL accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production

Power generation utilities owe Rs 12,028 crore to state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) as on March 31, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

"The total outstanding dues from power generating units to CIL as on March 31, 2016, is Rs 12,028.36 crore," Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a reply to the Lok Sabha.

The minister further said various steps are being taken by Coal India for timely recovery of dues from all its consumers.

He said the party-wise outstanding dues are being reviewed by the subsidiary companies on a monthly basis.

"The GM (sales and marketing) of subsidiaries concerned follow up regularly with parties concerned to realise the outstanding dues. Regional sales managers, stationed at different states, follow up with the power houses which fall within their jurisdiction on a monthly basis," he said.

"CMD and directors of the subsidiaries concerned have written letters directly to the chairman/directors of the power houses," Goyal said.

In case of major defaulters, CIL authorities, namely chairman and director (marketing), have taken up the matter with various ministries, he said.

In a bid to rescue almost bankrupt state electricity retailers, the central government had last year approved a scheme to rejig Rs 4.3 lakh-crore debt of the utilities.

The Cabinet had approved the scheme to ease the financial crunch of power distribution companies or discoms that has impaired their ability to buy electricity.

The rescue plan, called Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna or UDAY, aims at reviving ailing state electricity boards and bolstering operational efficiency of power distribution companies.

It envisages reducing interest burden, cost of power and aggregate technical and commercial losses.

The scheme is optional and gets operationalised by signing a pact between states, state discoms and the Centre.

Coal India accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production.

CIL supplied 407.9 million tonnes (mt) of fuel to the power sector in 2015-16.