Discoms say banks don’t give us loans,panel asks for proof

Sticking to their original line of argument,the DERC,in its letters sent on Monday,said the discoms’ accounts show profits.

According to DERC’s letter,the regulatory authority has arrived at the conclusion that BRPL’s net worth for 2009-2010 is Rs 575.88 crore. Similarly,BYPL’s net worth,as ascertained by DERC,is Rs 320.66 crore,and NDPL’s is Rs 1,561.10 crore.

The DERC writes,“The above mentioned factual position is based on the audited accounts submitted by you and the report of your own credit agency.” The regulatory body has also asked the discoms to respond within a week if they feel that,“the figures in the audited accounts or in the report of the credit agency contain any discrepancies”.

For the discoms,this will be a difficult question to answer.

“To say that there are discrepancies in their audit accounts would be like admitting that the figures have been bungled. Audited accounts are steadfast legal documents,” a Power department official said.

The discoms,meanwhile,plan to argue that there are gaps in the interpretation of the audited accounts by the DERC.

A senior BYPL official said: “In the audited accounts,we are legally bound to follow the mercantile system of calculating income. This system reflects future plausible revenue.  In the Aggregate Revenue Requirement,submitted to DERC,we show actual cash flows. So,naturally a gap exists.”

At the heart of the argument is the claim by discoms that the DERC owes them Rs 4,500 crore as regulatory assets,which when added to the audited accounts reflects a profit.

Regulatory assets are the gap between the projections made by the DERC in its tariff order during a certain financial year and the actual expenditure incurred by the discoms. 

In Monday’s communication,the also noted: “No letter from any lender has been presented by you (discoms) to establish that they have refused loan on the ground that your net worth,from the lender’s perspective,is inadequate.”