Electricity supply companies (Escoms) in the State are yet to get power bill dues over Rs. 9,000 crore from various government departments, agencies, private companies and individuals.
This was revealed by Minister for Energy D.K. Shivakumar in a written reply to a question by Tara (BJP). Bulk of the power dues — over Rs. 700 crore — was from urban and rural local bodies, he said.
The State government itself owes Rs. 42.7 crore to Escoms towards the refund of power tariff waiver to information technology companies and other industries.
Other than government departments, Mysore airport, Ghataprabha Sugar Factory, Sandur Mines, Hotur Steels, Kandaya Bhavana, Karnataka Housing Board and Ramanagaram Deputy Commissioner are some of the prominent defaulters, according to the list furnished by Mr. Shivakumar.