DISCOMS IN RED: MINISTER

HT Correspondent [email protected]

CHANDIGARH: Haryana power minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav told Vidhan Sabha on Friday that the two discoms -the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) -had incurred losses to the tune of `2,233.55 crore during the past three years.
“Increase in the cost of power purchase every year without the simultaneous increase in the tariff since 2001 is one of the reasons for the losses,“ the minister said.

Replying to a question in this regard raised by INLD MLA Ram Pal Majra, the power minister said: “Revision in employees salaries because of the sixth pay commission; increase in the interest cost of loans borrowed by discoms for working capital and capital works; high level of transmission losses; and power theft are among the other reasons behind the losses.“

Capt Yadav said the UHBVN incurred a loss of over `1,499 crore during 2009-10 while the DHBVN had to bear over Rs 778-crore loss during the same period.

“In 2010-11, the losses of the two power companies were over `1,367 crore and `791crore, respectively,“ minster Capt Yadav said. In the first six months of 2011-12 fiscal, the losses of the two discoms were over `1,734 crore and `498 crore, respectively.