State-run NTPC has decided to snap power supply to BSES DISCOMS in eastern and central parts of Delhi from Sunday midnight on non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 961.58 crore.

A notice for regulation of power supply has been served on the BRPL & BYPL which will deprive Delhi of 445 MW of power with effect from 00:00 hrs of September 5, 2016, NTPC Ltd said in press statement.

Despite clear directions of the Supreme Court, the dues continued to accumulate. Today, the outstanding amounts are Rs 961.58 crore (Rs 695.25 crore of BRPL & Rs 266.33 crore of (BYPL), it said. NTPC Ltd's arm Aravali Power Company Pvt Ltd (APCPL), Jhajjar has been supplying power to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group's BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) since March 5, 2011.

The power allocated to these DISCOMS from APCPL is 445 MW (372 MW to BRPL and 73 MW to BYPL) and average monthly energy bill is about Rs 87 crore (Rs 73 crore to BRPL & Rs 14 crore to BYPL) for the current financial year.

The company said that the payments by the BSES DISCOMS (power distribution companies) had become irregular for quite sometime. The matter was brought before the Supreme Court of India, which in its judgement dated March, 26, 2014 directed the BSES DISCOMS to ensure payments of all current energy bills from January 1, 2014. However, the company said that despite clear directions of the Supreme Court, the dues continued to accumulate.

In a meeting taken by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on May, 16, 2016, both BRPL & BYPL had given plan for liquidation of outstanding dues based on which regulation notice issued by APCPL earlier on May 6, 2016 was withdrawn. The company said that APCPL has to pay in advance to its fuel suppliers which constitute about 70-80 per cent of its monthly energy bills.

If the above situation continues, APCPL being a single power station company is unable to meet any of its commitments inter alia including payment to fuel suppliers, debt servicing requirements and even payment of salaries to its employees. under the circumstances, APCPL has no other option but to regulate power on the BSES DISCOMS, it added.

