Distribution companies (DISCOMs) owed renewable generators ₹205.17 billion (~$2.68 billion) in overdue payments (excluding disputed amounts) at the end of February 2022, according to the data released by the Ministry of Power.

The figure reported for February was 45% higher than ₹141.42 billion (~$1.89 billion) registered for January 2022.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Power’s payment ratification and analysis portal PRAAPTI, the outstanding amount to renewable generators at the end of the month stood at ₹3.92 billion (~$51.21 million). At the end of January, the amount was ₹11.75 billion (~$157.13 million).

At the end of the month, DISCOMs owed all power generators an overdue amount equivalent to ₹1.05 trillion (~$13.73 billion), an increase of 3.4% from ₹1.01 trillion (~$13.28 billion) at the end of January 2022.

The outstanding amount at the end of February 2022 stood at ₹165.7 billion (~$2.17 billion), a decrease of 1% from ₹163.32 billion (~$2.14 billion) at the end of January this year.

For February, the DISCOMs released $136.49 billion (~$1.79 billion) against the overdue amount, an increase of 2% compared to $134.2 billion (~$1.76 billion) during the month of January. The DISCOMs released ₹39.5 billion (~$515.98 million) against the outstanding amount, marking a decrease of 1% from ₹39.88 billion (~$520.95 million) in January.

The three renewable generators who owed the most were Adani Green Energy, Hero Future Energies, and Tata Power Company at the end of the month.

Among the states, Tamil Nadu had the highest backlog with an overdue amount of ₹206.6 billion, followed closely by Maharashtra and Rajasthan, with ₹192.85 billion (~$2.52 billion) and ₹108.73 billion (~$1.42 billion), respectively.

In terms of ease of doing business with the DISCOMs, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya were at the lowest rung. Other states that did badly during the month were Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.

The states that performed well during the month were Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Goa, and Kerala.

Last December, the Ministry of Power said that 39 out of 55 electricity DISCOMs had submitted draft proposals under the ₹3.03 trillion (~$40.82 billion) reforms-based result-linked power distribution program. The Ministry had said that Meghalaya and Assam were the frontrunners in planning operational and financial reforms.

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