CESC Ltd has lost a potential revenue of Rs 340 crore as its transmission and distribution (T&D) loss continued to hover over 19 per cent during 1997-98.
The company's chairman R P Goenka who claimed a decline in the loss `after several years of increase', however, has not specified the improvement. The fact is, the T & D loss for 1997-98 was 19.06 per cent against 19.97 per cent registered in 1996-97.
The decline in the loss by 0.91 per cent has helped CESC reduce its potential revenue loss by just Rs 8 crore compared to 1996-97. Its potential loss the previous year had been Rs 332 crore.
The company's average revenue from sale of electricity was about Rs 2.88 last year and Rs 2.77 in 1996-97. According to the company's latest annual report, the T & D loss which used to hover below 15 per cent a decade back rose to 18.77 per cent in 1993-94, then to 19.2 per cent in 1995-96 and 19.92 per cent in 1996-97. The loss of 19.06 per cent was still above the loss in 1993-94.
Lovelock & Lewes, the company's auditors, have said that the recoverability of `deferred payments of Rs 25.72 crore which represent exchange variations arising on repayments of foreign currency loans taken to finance capital projects' is `dependent upon specific approval from the State Government'.
Despite the difficult financial position during the year, the annual report shows that CESC had made total loans and advances of Rs 225.8 crore during the year which was a sharp increase from Rs 158.68 crore in 1996-97.
The break-up of such unsecured loans and advances are as follows: advance to subsidiary - Rs 37.16 lakh; inter-corporate deposit - Rs 40.14 crore; advances recoverable in cash or in kind or for value to be received - Rs 166.08 crore (Rs 102 crore the previous year); deposit with Excise, Port Trust etc. - Rs 1.54 crore; other deposits - Rs 17.55 crore. The company has further explained that it has spent Rs 44.26 crore for the Balagarh power project, and Rs 8.46 crore for the coal mining project. CESC being the promoter, it had to incur these pre-operative expenditure. The spent amounts are expected to be adjusted against shares in due course. Another revelation is that CESC has paid an advance of Rs 12.10 lakh `as advance against legal services rendered/to be rendered by a firm in which a Director is a Partner'.
Despite the mention of pre-operative expenditures for the Balagarh power project in the notes to the accounts, the chairman's speech is totally silent on the progress of the project though the coal mining project finds a place in his speech. It will seek shareholders' approval for the re-appointment of its managing director, Sumantra Banerjee for five years, till 31 July, 2003. He will continue to have a salary of Rs 1,03,400 a month. The deputy managing director, C Das Gupta is proposed to be given extension for another year till April 1, 1999. His salary will be Rs 70,000 a month. Other benefits proposed for Banerjee and Das Gupta will have a ceiling of Rs 13 lakh and Rs 8 lakh per annum.
