Thermal power producers have accused the Tamil Nadu government of using pressure tactics to get discounts on raised bills.
In a letter to Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, the Association of Power Producers (APP) said: “Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) was pressurising individual Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and trying to arm-twist them into accepting huge discounts on the pending dues.”
According to the APP, IPPs supplying power to Tamil Nadu have been asked to provide 50 per cent discount on late payment surcharge dues and 20 per cent discount on pending fixed charge amounts. These discounts have been sought in order to get their dues under the liquidity infusion scheme offered by the Centre. “Unfortunately, the stalemate situation continues in Tamil Nadu,” the APP letter said.
The Centre had offered soft loans to power distribution companies under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package. These loans were disbursed through Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and REC. “TANGEDCO has asked for release of funds for Central Generating Stations on the grounds that the work of reconciliation of bills of IPPs is ongoing. We would like to bring to your notice that this is an attempt by TANGEDCO to put further pressure on the IPPs to accede to their demands,” the letter said.
“The IPPs, in view of their limited bargaining power with States, would come under heavy pressure to yield to the unreasonable demands being made by TANGEDCO. This would set a very wrong precedent for prospective releases under the liquidity infusion window. In this context you would recall similar attempts made by Uttar Pradesh discoms earlier,” the letter added.
The APP requested the Centre to instruct PFC and REC to not disburse funds in a piecemeal manner. “All the pending dues of Central Generating Stations and IPPs, whether conventional or renewable energy generators, should be submitted together for disbursement under the liquidity window,” the letter said.
Source: thehindubusinessline
