Mahavitaran’s annual revenue is around Rs 75,000 crore per annum; industrial and commercial establishments’ share of that comes to around Rs 30,000 crore – and the lockdown is expected to severely affect this share
Mahavitaran revenues expected to crash following closure of industrial and commercial units.
The lockdown and subsequent closure of industrial and commercial units in the state have had a severe impact on the financial health of the state government-owned power distribution utility, Mahavitaran Ltd. Big business units usually cross-subsidise retail, agricultural and power loom consumers. The utility’s average power load is around 20,000 to 21,000 MW, which has now come down to 16,000 to 17,000 MW – a direct result of the drop in industrial and commercial activity.
Mahavitaran’s average cost of power supply is around Rs 7 per unit; it supplies power to industry at around Rs 9 per unit and to commercial establishments at around Rs 11. This helps the utility subsidise other customer segments, including residents who consume less than 100 units per month.
Mahavitaran’s annual revenue is around Rs 75,000 crore per annum; industrial and commercial establishments’ share of that comes to around Rs 30,000 crore – and the lockdown is expected to severely affect this share.
“It is not just Mahavitaran. This is more or less the situation of almost all state government-owned power utilities,” power sector analyst Ashok Pendse said.
“The lockdown has affected the entire chain, power distribution companies have not paid their dues to power generation companies, the generation companies in turn have not paid to coal companies and railways, and coal companies have now taken loans from banks to pay salaries of their employees,” he added.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes
