Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has urged the Centre to extend a financial package to the power sector that will be helpful for continuity of essential services.
Noting that the nationwide lockdown has caused economic hardships, Odisha Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy called on Union Power Secretary Sanjeev Nandan Sahai to reduce coal prices for this period, deferring all capital expenses such as loan repayment, interest payment and return on equity.
“Standard pricing of coal needs to be discontinued for the time being, and each coal company needs to declare its price based on cost of production, excluding the capital costs,” Asit Kumar Tripathy said in a letter to Sahai.
“Companies should be directed to discontinue charging any premium/incentive on bridge/flexi/long-term linkage coal being availed for the year 2020-21 or at least for the next six months,” Tripathy added. Similar concession can also be offered in case of lignite and gas prices, he further stated.
The Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and other financial institutions should provide loans to power sector players, including generators, transmission and distribution companies, Tripathy pointed out. He added that Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) three-month moratorium on repayment of loans and interest may be considered for extension to six months for the energy sector.
It should be mentioned here that Odisha became Wednesday the first state in India to extend the lockdown to April 30. At present 44 positive coronavirus cases have been reported from Odisha. Among these 41 are currently under treatment, two have recovered and have been discharged while a person tested positive after his death.
Odisha is implementing the lockdown with all seriousness as it tries to contain the spread of the pandemic coronavirus.
PNN & Agencies