• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, March 22

MSEB is expected to end the current fiscal with a loss of Rs 1,500 crore, down by over Rs 1,300 crore over last year's Rs 2,841 crore. According to MSEB officials, this is because the board stopped buying the expensive power from Enron's Dabhol Power Company.

"Of our last year's losses, over Rs 1,300 crore were because of DPC. This year, after we stopped buying DPC power, it has reflected on our drastically reduced losses," Mr A. Krishna Rao, Member (Accounts), MSEB, told Business Line.

In his Budget speech, Mr Jayant Patil, State Finance Minister, on Friday said MSEB losses in the current year are likely to be Rs 1,500 crore.

He said, "Financial support to MSEB through the Budget is becoming untenable." This would mean that funds extended to the MSEB towards agricultural and powerloom subsidies as also conversion of loans into equity would be reconsidered.

Mr Patil also said Maharashtra's power reforms would be in line with the Godbole Committee recommendations. "The proposed reforms will be based on discussions initiated on the Godbole Committee report," he said

According to a senior MSEB official, the reforms discussed, including unbundling, privatisation of distribution and rationalisation of tariff, are not completely similar to those in other states such as Orissa. "Unbundling experiences have been different in different states. The proposed reforms in Maharashtra would involve creating `concentric circles' to be given to local power bodies, who can pay for the power supplied to them. The reforms in Maharashtra will be different from the rest of the country," the official said.

The State Government has invited suggestions from all "stakeholders" on the Godbole Committee recommendations, the draft Maharashtra Electricity Reform Bill and the Electricity Bill 2001 of the Government of India. The process will also include "exhaustive discussions" with MSEB workers' unions.

But MSEB officials are sceptical about the Budget announcements. The board has submitted its Master Meterisation Plan to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. And it has ordered 15 lakh metres this year with plans to order 30 lakh metres every year to meet its target of 100 per cent agricultural metering in the next three years.

Said the MSEB official: "We have already initiated our own internal reforms. It is now the Government's responsibility to ensure that the reforms are not politicised. And that the power sector is freed from political games if the reforms are to be effective."

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Sinha hints at further rollback

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line