Power tariff woes, debt rising despite UDAY: It's not just regulatory fault

The power ministry recently said discoms cannot be blamed for their rising debt and dues

Timely revision in power tariffs did not happen even after the launch of UDAY, the debt restructuring programme of the NDA government, in November 2015. In most cases, discoms have not even submitted the mandatory tariff petitions to state electricity regulators (SERCs). Some states have asked for a reduction in tariff in their submissions for the current fiscal year.

The Ministry of Power recently blamed SERCs for not ordering regular tariff revision and stated that discoms cannot be blamed for their rising debt and dues.

In their submissions for tariff approval for 2019-20, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka have sought