Meet Tomorrow To Resolve Ntpc Dispute With Consumers

The meeting is expected to resolve the dispute over the regulation of power to the eastern states by the NTPC as a punitive measure for non-payment of dues.

According to the compromise formula being worked out, Bihar, West Bengal and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) will have to increase their lines of credit (LCs) for paying monthly dues to the NTPC. The size of the LCs will determine the quantum of NTPC power supply to them.

According to the NTPC, the average monthly supply of power to Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and the DVC is worth Rs 106 crore. However, they have so far opened LCs for just Rs 26 crore. This has resulted in a steady increase in the outstanding. The total sum is Rs 1,009 crore, including a surcharge of Rs 397 crore.

 

Bihar, which used to consume power worth Rs 44 crore a month, has agreed to open an LC of Rs 15 crore, with a promise to increase it in October. So far, it has none.

West Bengal has been consuming power worth Rs 7 crore a month for which its LC so far was of Rs 4 crore. The West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB), however, says it was making the rest of the payment outside the LC mechanism.

The NTPC insisted that WBSEB must cover its entire consumption by LC. SEB officials explained that the Rs 4 crore LC is encashed around the 10th of every month. The Board's own revenue collection is slow due to which it has been paying the rest Rs 3 crore towards the end of each month. The compromise formula is that WBSEB will open a second LC for Rs 3 crore which will be payable on the 25th of every month. In fact, the NTPC says West Bengal must open an LC for Rs 14 crore. This takes into account the surplus allocation to WBSEB being exported to Assam and AndhraPradesh. But WBSEB refuses to take any responsibility for the export and has asked the NTPC to bill the beneficiaries directly.

DVC's average monthly drawal from the NTPC has been worth Rs 17 crore against an LC for Rs 10 crore. However, the DVC has said that it is not in a position to increase the LC amount.r>