CERC Decreases Late Payment Surcharge For Discoms

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has decreased the rate at which power conveyance organizations (discoms) should take care of punishments against delays in installments planned between March 24 and June 30. The controller, in a request gave on Friday, has decreased the late installment extra charge for the previously mentioned period from the typical pace of 1.5% to 1%.

This will give some help to the focused on discoms as they are thinking that its hard to proceed with meter understanding activities and gather installments from purchasers in the midst of the countrywide lockdown to contain the episode of the coronavirus.

Recognizing that force producing and the transmission organizations should keep bearing the intrigue cost on their working capital advances, CERC didn't permit any ban on month to month charges payable by the discoms to these elements. Inviting CERC's choice, Pratik Agarwal, overseeing executive, Sterlite Power, said 'this will guarantee smooth working of the whole force division, and evade liquidity issues at this significant hour where network security is of most extreme significance'.

Summoning area 107 of the Electricity Act — which enables the focal government to issue 'headings in issues of strategy including open intrigue' — the force service has coordinated CERC to diminish the punishment rate for late installment extra charges. The Union force service has just asked state-run power creating organizations, for example, NTPC and Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) not to reduce supply to the states regardless of whether the discoms don't clear installments to them on schedule.

Furthermore, the quantum of advance installment that discoms need to outfit as security has been decreased to half till June 30. The Union force service had actualized the letter of credit (LC) component since August 2019, which makes it compulsory for discoms to give advance LCs worth the all out estimation of capacity to be provided. Presently, the LCs can be half of the value of power.