India’s power demand saw a 25-28 per cent dip during the lockdown period, which was necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact on the revenues of discoms (or, power distribution companies) is even higher, since the demand contraction is largely from the higher-tariff-paying industrial and commercial customers. Due to the lockdown, regular discom activities of meter reading, billing and collection have also been hampered. Discoms will face an estimated additional liquidity shortfall of Rs 45,000-50,000 crore, on top of the Rs 90,000 crore already owed to generators before Covid.
As the Indian economy and power sector chart a recovery path
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