Electricity distribution companies (Discoms) would get their credit ratings from April 1, said Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Power (Independent Charge).
The Power Minister today met banks and financial institutions to discuss the bottlenecks in the sector.
“CARE and ICRA have been given charge to give the ratings,” Scindia told mediapersons after more than an hour meeting.
The ratings would help the banks and other financial institutions lending to Discoms to guess their financial risks. The utilities are reeling under tough financial crunch. The Government is in the process of rolling out a re-structuring package for the ailing Discoms.
The lenders are apprehensive about fuel availability and environment hurdles that are major hiccups blocking new capacity additions in the country.
“Regular tariff revision is essential not just to ease lending, but to boost private sector investment,” Scindia added.