The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is planning to monitor payment of dues to renewable energy companies from distribution companies and has asked them to share details of the dues.
“It has been reported that some renewable energy generating companies are not getting payment for energy supplied to distribution companies on a regular basis. To monitor the position, CEA wants to maintain a database of all outstanding dues of renewable energy generators from distribution companies,” it said in a communication to the companies. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the key States where distribution companies have huge payment dues to energy producers. According to data furnished by the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), on an approximate basis, Tamil Nadu owes ₹1,100 crore each to wind and solar energy generators, as on April 1, 2019.
Karnataka owes ₹3,110 crore, Andhra Pradesh owes ₹2,800 crore, Maharashtra owes ₹2,460 crore to renewable energy firms.
Mounting dues
Overall discom dues to renewable energy firms is estimated to be ₹13,820 crore.
The CEA has requested the firms to provide details on a monthly basis and would provide access to PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators) portal which list the payment dues from State distribution companies.
As of now, the producers of conventional energy list their dues from distribution companies on the portal and it is now being extended to renewable energy firms. Payment delays has been one of the key issues across many States, including Tamil Nadu, an industry official said.
