The Delhi government has finally agreed to provide financial help to power supplier BSES,so it can pay off dues to electricity generation companies that are threatening to cut supply to the city. Several private firms,including the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC),had warned the BSES that they would stop providing electricity unless it pays off dues amounting to nearly Rs 3,500 crore by January 7. After initially refusing to bail BSES out of its financial rut,Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said after a Cabinet meeting on Monday that her government would provide aid. We cannot allow the system to collapse. We have taken the decision (to help BSES) to ensure that power supply is not stopped. We discussed the issue with the Centre before taking the decision, Dikshit said. BSES,which services at least 28 lakh households,has been asking the government for a bailout ever since the debt crisis arose last month. It said the IDBI Bank has agreed to offer a loan to pay off the debt,but only if all stakeholders raise a fifth of the loan amount in proportion to their stake in the company. Last week,the BSES had asked the government to infuse Rs 500 crore as equity into the company,proportionate to its 49 per cent shareholding in the company,failure of which would make it consider its dilution. Without offering details of the bailout package,Dikshit on Monday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had been apprised of the situation. Senior officials said the government may infuse fresh equity into the company,and inform power regulator Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission about its decision on Tuesday. Meanwhile,Dikshit said the government would offer similar monetary help to Tata-backed discom NDPL,even though it has not sought assistance,to ensure a level-playing field. We will not help only one company. We will help both of them, she said. Meanwhile,Opposition Bhartiya Janata Party slammed the governments decision to bail the company out,stating that taxpayers money is being given to the discom in the name of helping it. This amounts to gross breach of the peoples trust. The government,instead of spending the money on welfare projects,is rewarding big business houses, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V K Malhotra said.
