Crisil, rating agency, in its latest report has stated total debt of state-owned discoms is set to increase to pre-Uday levels of Rs 2.6 trillion by the end of current financial year (FY20), as many states have limited fiscal headroom to continue to support them. As per rating agency, which analysed 15 states which account for 85% of the aggregate losses, discoms have to become commercially viable through prudent tariff hikes and a material reduction in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses. The report further stated that nine of the 15 states account for over two-thirds of the total debt of discoms and are already in breach of their law mandated debt of under 25% of GSDP.
The report highlighted under the agreement the states had signed under Uday scheme with the Centre in FY16, discoms were to initiate begin reforms by reducing AT&C losses by 900 basis points to 15% by FY19, and also implement regular tariff hikes of 5-6% per annum. In lieu, the states took over three- fourths of discom debt, thus reducing their interest burden.
Besides, the report noted that improvement in operations may face challenges because the focus on new rural connections without adequate tariff hikes can increase losses. As in the past, report mentioned that such situation leaves the states with two options, including take hard decisions to get discoms back into shape, or prepare for another bail-out.
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