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ASEB hit by Rs 45-cr monthly cash deficit

By Ajit patowary - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Nov 23 � The Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and its successor companies have been suffering from severe 'monthly cash deficit' worth around Rs 45 crore owing to hike in gas price, power purchase and transmission cost and payment of salaries to their employees.

The ASEB is now trying to overcome the situation by encashment of fixed deposits of its Pension Trust Fund as a short-term measure. But any further lingering of the situation may lead to default in payment to power generators. In such a situation, Central sector generating stations are free to divert Assam's power allocation and sell it in the market. This would seriously impact power supply position in the State, warn official sources.

Meanwhile, the ASEB has requested the State Government to direct the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) for approval of the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd's (APDCL's) tariff revision petition and the fuel and power purchase cost adjustment formula (FPPA) immediately or to provide direct monthly subsidy to the tune of Rs 45 crore with retrospective effect since July last.

It needs mention here that in other parts of the country, State governments have been extending assistance to their respective power utilities in the form of subvention to ward off additional financial burden. Lack of governmental assistance is making upward revision of power tariff an annual event in Assam these days.

According to official sources here, the APDCL has been paying an additional amount of Rs 22 crore to the power generators every month since July last due to the hike in the prices of gas.

Again, the ASEB and its successor companies are to bear the burden of an additional amount of Rs 14 crore per month for the revised pay of their employees with effect from September last. The successor companies of the ASEB are paying another additional amount of Rs 9 crore to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), open market and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for enhanced power purchase and transmission cost.

The APDCL, sources said, had petitioned AERC, on February 1, 2010, to revise its power tariff. It expected that the Commission would grant its plea by passing a tariff revision order within May30, 2010 as per the provision of the Electricity Act 2003.

The APDCL also submitted in its tariff petition an FPPA for adjustment in price of power on account of gas price hike. But the AERC informed the APDCL on August 21, 2010 that only its tariff petition had been admitted.

It is worth mentioning here that in June, 2010, the Central Government had hiked the prices of natural gas from Rs 2,186 to Rs 4,780 per thousand standard cubic metre (TSCM) for the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) gas and from Rs 4,961 to Rs 7,834 per TSCM, for the non-APM gas.

Accordingly, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) allowed the Central sector power generators to recover the additional cost from the power purchasers with effect from June 2010.