State joins UDAY to restructure Discom debt

NEW DELHI, March 13

Haryana along with its DISCOMs—the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam— has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under UDAY – “Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana”— here for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOMs.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal were present at the signing of the MoU.

With Haryana coming into the fold, the combined DISCOM debt that would be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs.1.94 lakh crore, approximately 45% of the total outstanding DISCOM debt of Rs.4.3 lakh crore as on September 30, 2015.By signing the MoU under UDAY and agreeing to take over the debt of the DISCOMs, the Haryana Government has taken a major step towards improving the financial health of the its power distribution companies.

The Government of Haryana would take over Rs 25,950 crore of the DISCOM debt, being 75% of the total DISCOM debt of Rs 34,600 crore outstanding as on 30.9.2015, as envisaged in the scheme.

The scheme also provides for the balance debt of Rs 8,650 crore to be re-priced or issued as state- guaranteed DISCOM bonds at coupon rates around 3% lower than the average existing interest rate. The annual saving in the interest cost to the state would be around Rs.1040 crore on account of restructuring of the DISCOM debt. —TNS