'If merged, power distribution companies will collapse'

HT Correspondent
THE TWO DISCOMS, UHBVN AND DHBVN, HAVE REQUESTED THE HARYANA GOVERNMENT FOR A BAILOUT PACKAGE

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has slammed the Congress government's proposed move to merge the state-owned power distribution companies, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, in view of their mounting losses. The party blamed the government for the losses.
“The two corporations have accumulated losses of Rs 7,000 crore and loans of Rs 16,000 crore due to the flawed policies of the present government. They are borrowing more money to pay their existing loans,“ Col Raghbir Singh Chhillar (retd), INLD legislator and former chairman of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), told HT on Sunday.
He said the companies should be allowed to maintain their separate identities because “a merger would have an adverse affect their functioning“.

He recalled the unbundling of the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board, and said it took several years before the functioning of the two new entities stabilised. “If the government goes ahead with their merger, these two companies will collapse,“ he said.

The financial crunch in the two distribution companies has started affecting the power generation and transmission companies also.
A few months ago, the two discoms had requested the state government for a bailout package.

Chhillar said, “The trialand-error methods adopted by the authorities are to blame for the present financial mess.
There is utter lack of consistency in decision-making.“

On the government's announcement regarding reintroduction of the slab system of power tariff for agriculture consumers in the state, he said that the scheme was “not as attractive as the one introduced by Devi Lal as the chief minister“.