Two utilities of West Bengal and Maharashtra were given “A” Grade. This is followed by 11 Discoms from Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab who have been given ‘B+' Grade for their moderate operational and financial performance.
Ten Discoms with relatively poor performance and weaker financial health were assigned “B”, while eight Discoms received C+ grade. All the four UP Discoms were awarded C grade for sustained net losses, weak cost coverage, high line losses, negative net-worth and delay in submission of accounts
The performances of all the 39 state power Discoms were considered by Ministry of Power with the help of private rating agencies. It, however, does not cover state energy departments and private Discoms.
The key findings of the report were low ability of most Discoms to cover the basic cost of supply due to increase in expenses on account of higher fuel cost, substantial build-up of debt for funding losses, marginal improvement in technical and commercial losses and high subsidy receivables by some utilities from state governments.
Ratings of Discoms will be an annual exercise for long-term sustainable approach to improve their health.
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