NLC to shut down if K’taka does not pay

BANGALORE, FEB 21: The Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) today threatened to shut down its power plants from March 15 if the Karnataka Government did not pay Rs 289 crore by way of arrears. The move may disrupt the southern grid.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had also been approached to divert power allotted to Karnataka to other states which were making payments, to sustain operations, NLC, a central enterprise, said in a statement here.All attempts towards receiving dues from KEB (Karnataka Electricity Board) had “not invoked the right appreciation from the authorities concerned… and NLC is driven to take recourse to drastic measures…,” it said.

NLC, which supplies power to all the southern electricity boards from its thermal station with a capacity of 1470 MW, said outstanding payments to KEB had been mounting for years. The NLC had even offered it an additional cash rebate for timely payment.