By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 19: The revenue collection of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is expected to rise to around Rs 120 crore in the next few months, MeECL Chairman and Managing Director, Arunkumar Kembhavi said on Friday.
He said MeECL’s monthly revenue is around Rs 65-70 crore on an average at present but expenditure is around Rs 100 crore.
“We are having a net loss of Rs 35-40 crore and sometimes, it goes up to even Rs 50 crore depending on what kind of loan repayment occurs in a particular month and what kind of loans are on the verge of becoming non-performing assets (NPA),” Kembhavi said.
He said several measures were taken to improve MeECL’s overall functioning. Explaining the steps, he said the Corporation is introducing the smart meter system and investing in substations and distributions lines.
“We are hopeful the steps will help reduce the transmission and distribution losses. We are also improving our billing and collection efficiency,” Kembhavi said.
The MeECL had offered one-time settlement to all six lakh consumers, including industrial consumers, government departments and domestic consumers.
“Recently, we extended the time from January 31 to March 31, 2021 for those who have availed the one-time settlement offer to make final payment. There is a lot of hue and cry as the scheme ended on January 31, followed by a summary mass disconnection drive. Till Wednesday, more than 25,000 disconnections have taken place. Most people have paid on the spot when there is disconnection,” Kembhavi said.
He said in January itself, they recovered revenue of Rs 83 crore for the entire month, which is the highest in many years.
“I am confident that MeECL will achieve a record recovery of outstanding dues in February,” he said.
The MeECL has outstanding dues of Rs 68 crore to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGDCIL) as on date. Stating that the dues are 45 days old, Kembhavi said the state government assured to pay 50% of the dues upfront within seven to eight days.
The remaining Rs 34 crore would be paid in 12 equal monthly installments along with the monthly bill of that particular month. The PDGCIL thought it is a very good offer from the government, Kembhavi said, adding, the PGDCIL decided to revoke the regulations and it is for this reason that there is no more load shedding.
He said MeECL had cleared loans of Rs 76 crore in July last year to several institutions like Rural Electrification Corporation, Power Finance Corporation and Central Bank of India.
“We have also floated seven series MeECL corporate bonds and there is a need to make quarterly repayment of the bonds. There are a lot of liabilities which are historical in nature and some of them have been taken for projects like Myntdu-Leshka Hydroelectric Project, transmission lines, substations and short-term loans for payments of salaries and pensions among many others,” Kembhavi said.
“The MeECL has huge loan liabilities. If we don’t make the repayment on the last day, then the loan will turn into NPA and the Reserve Bank of India restrictions will apply and our credit rating will crash. It would mean in the future, no financial institutions will extend loans to MeECL,” Kembhavi explained.