Power demand fall causes discom ₹300cr revenue dip in March
Shutdown of industrial units and the subsequent decrease in power consumption, due to the 21-day nationwide lockdown, has resulted in a ₹300 crore-dip in March revenue of the Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), the power distribution arm of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL).

The power consumption last month decreased to 525 megawatts (MW) per day, from the March average of around 1,000 MW per day. The revenue has been hit as commercial and industrial establishments are charged more than domestic consumer per unit of electricity, said officials.
Virendra Nath Singh, PVVNL’s chief engineer, says that the dip might be even higher. “We are unable to generate revenue from anywhere. Industrial units are shut due to the Covid-19 crisis, while, as per the rules, our officials are not collecting dues from defaulters. Even the consumption of power, purchased through power purchase agreements (PPAs), has reduced by 50%. We have suffered a revenue loss of over ₹300 crore last month,” he said.
Singh said that decreased power consumption will affect the cash flow of the distribution company (discom), which will lead to delay in payments to the power generation and transmission companies. “Industrial and commercial establishments account for about 40% of the power demand in the district. In March, the average power demand per day was supposed to be 1,000 MW in Noida, which fell to less than 525 MW per day,” he said.
Outlining the important factors of the financial relief package given by the Centre, Singh said that there is a three-month moratorium on payments for power purchased by all state-owned discoms. “Under this package, the penalty for late payments has also been waived off and the security payment has been reduced to 50% for future purchases,” he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on Wednesday, announced a waiver of fixed charges for industrial units, until the lockdown period.
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