Lok Sabha Question No. 4410 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Financial Health of DISCOMs
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri Damodar Agrawal, Shri P P Chaudhary, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Shri Dineshbhai Makwana, Shri Kota Srinivasa Poojary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4410 ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## FINANCIAL HEALTH OF DISCOMS

4410.  SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

SHRI DINESHBHAI MAKWANA: SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY: DR. SANJAY JAISWAL:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether specific policy interventions and structural reforms undertaken by the Government to improve the financial health of DISCOMs have had a positive effect;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, including the status of the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Rules and the role of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 on promoting competition and payment discipline;
- (c) the details of the Average Technical and Commercial (AT&C) Losses at the panIndia level since the inception of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in 2021; and
- (d) the year-wise trends of the gap between the Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average Revenue Realised (ARR) since the inception of the RDSS?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

- (a) & (b) : Government of India (GoI) has been supporting the distribution utilities to improve their financial viability through various initiatives. Some of the key initiatives taken are as under:
1. Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) has been launched in the year 2021 with the objective of improving the quality and reliability of supply of power through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution  sector.  The  release  of  funds  under  the  scheme  is  linked  to performance  of  the  States/  distribution  utilities  against  financial  and operational parameters.
2. Additional borrowing space of 0.5% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has been made available to State Governments, which is conditional upon them undertaking specific reforms in the power sector including financial performance of the distribution utilities.

……..2.

3. Additional Prudential Norms have been laid down for sanctioning of loans to State-owned  power  utilities  based  on  performance  of  power  distribution utilities against prescribed conditions.
4. Rules  for  implementation  of  Fuel  and  Power  Purchase  Costs  Adjustment (FPPCA) and cost-reflective tariff have been framed so as to ensure that all prudent costs for supply of electricity are passed through.
5. Rules and Standard Operating Procedure have been issued for proper subsidy accounting and their timely payment.

With  concerted  efforts  of  Central  and  State  Governments,  the  Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses at national level have reduced from 21.91% in FY21 to 15.04% in FY25 while the national Average Cost of Supply - Average Revenue Realized  (ACS-ARR)  gap  has  narrowed  from  Rs.  0.69/kWh  to  Rs.  0.06/kWh.  These collective efforts have also resulted in DISCOMs achieving a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 2,701 crore in FY25 for the first time.

GoI notified the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022 on 3 rd  June, 2022. The Rules provide that all the dues of Generating companies (IPPs, CPSEs and Renewable Energy Developers), Traders and Inter State Transmission Service  Providers,  including  late  payments  surcharges,  upto  3 rd   June  2022  were considered as arrears which were to be rescheduled and the distribution licensee shall pay such dues in equated monthly installments (EMIs) as per the rules, starting from August  2022  with  benefits  of  non-applicability  of  late  payment  surcharge  after 03.06.2022. These rules also provide framework for time-bound clearance of current dues.

As a result, the outstanding legacy dues of Rs. 1,39,947 crore as on 03.06.2022 have  reduced  to  Rs.  3,300  crore  as  on  10.03.2026.  DISCOMs  are  also  paying  their current dues in time.

In order to ensure long-term financial stability for DISCOMs while safeguarding consumer  interests,  various  measures  have  been  envisaged  in  the  draft  National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026, and Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025.

(c)  &  (d)  :  State  wise  AT&C loss and ACS-ARR gap since the inception of RDSS are enclosed at Annexure I and II respectively.

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## ANNEXURE-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) & (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4410 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 19.03.2026

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## AT&C Loss (%)

| State/ UT         | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   | 2024-25   |
|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| ANI               | 25.30     | 19.80     | 19.77     | 20.76     | 24.14     |
| Andhra Pradesh    | 20.42     | 10.56     | 7.74      | 12.05     | 7.87      |
| Arunachal         | 51.82     | 47.83     | 51.70     | 42.86     | 46.20     |
| Pradesh Assam     | 18.73     | 16.95     | 16.22     | 14.03     | 15.44     |
| Bihar             | 34.40     | 33.94     | 23.45     | 20.32     | 15.51     |
| Chandigarh        | 13.81     | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Chhattisgarh      | 18.05     | 18.13     | 16.14     | 15.88     | 14.25     |
| Delhi (NDMC)      | 9.43      | 7.88      | 10.67     | 12.82     | 8.36      |
| Goa               | 12.89     | 12.79     | 17.09     | 9.09      | 10.39     |
| Gujarat           | 11.08     | 9.17      | 10.72     | 8.97      | 8.25      |
| Haryana           | 17.46     | 14.06     | 12.01     | 11.30     | 11.76     |
| Himachal          | 14.02     | 12.90     | 10.57     | 10.88     | 19.44     |
| Pradesh Jammu &   | 59.28     | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Kashmir Jharkhand | 43.09     | 30.85     | 27.46     | 30.51     | 28.19     |
| Karnataka         | 15.97     | 11.51     | 14.19     | 11.89     | 11.92     |
| Kerala            | 7.83      | 8.08      | 5.65      | 7.44      | 6.61      |
| Ladakh            | NA        | 48.29     | 38.61     | 42.46     | 26.82     |
| Lakshadweep       | 11.63     | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 41.72     | 21.36     | 20.45     | 22.89     | 22.76     |
| Maharashtra       | 26.60     | 14.73     | 16.96     | 23.86     | 17.69     |
| Manipur           | 24.56     | 24.28     | 13.82     | 13.41     | 12.90     |
| Meghalaya         | 23.37     | 29.75     | 17.75     | 17.51     | 17.52     |
| Mizoram           | 29.05     | 36.45     | 26.53     | 28.01     | 32.31     |
| Nagaland          | 47.08     | 43.26     | 47.28     | 47.11     | 48.86     |
| Puducherry        | 20.12     | 14.20     | 21.83     | 17.75     | 14.72     |
| Punjab            | 18.54     | 11.67     | 11.23     | 10.96     | 19.21     |
| Rajasthan         | 26.18     | 17.49     | 15.44     | 22.13     | 15.18     |
| Sikkim            | 98.35     | 30.77     | 26.41     | 27.84     | 21.84     |
| Tamil Nadu        | 11.78     | 10.53     | 10.92     | 11.39     | 10.96     |
| Telangana         | 13.33     | 10.65     | 18.65     | 19.01     | 19.84     |
| Tripura           | 37.36     | 24.97     | 24.91     | 69.01     | 29.61     |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 26.78     | 30.62     | 22.18     | 16.39     | 19.54     |
| Uttarakhand       | 15.39     | 14.15     | 14.41     | 14.69     | 15.08     |
| West Bengal       | 20.94     | 16.37     | 17.43     | 17.13     | 17.17     |
| Private Sector    | 14.97     | 15.23     | 10.76     | 11.0      | 10.05     |
| National          | 21.91     | 16.28     | 15.22     | 15.97     | 15.04     |

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) & (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4410 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 19.03.2026 *************

## ACS-ARR Gap (Rs per kWh)

| States/ UTs       | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   | 2024-25   |
|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| ANI               | 5.09      | 2.61      | 1.31      | 2.70      | 2.22      |
| Andhra Pradesh    | 1.01      | 0.34      | 0.29      | 0.34      | (0.15)    |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      | 0.00      |
| Assam             | 0.10      | (0.30)    | 0.62      | (0.22)    | (0.26)    |
| Bihar             | 0.87      | 0.62      | 0.04      | (0.18)    | (0.41)    |
| Chandigarh        | (0.42)    | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Chhattisgarh      | 0.20      | 0.21      | 0.26      | (0.20)    | (0.19)    |
| Delhi (NDMC)      | (0.77)    | (0.39)    | 0.95      | (2.45)    | (0.86)    |
| Goa               | (0.18)    | 0.54      | 0.46      | 1.04      | 0.20      |
| Gujarat           | (0.07)    | (0.06)    | (0.02)    | (0.58)    | (0.40)    |
| Haryana           | (0.12)    | (0.15)    | (0.15)    | (0.04)    | 0.10      |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 0.11      | 0.10      | 0.78      | 0.36      | 0.23      |
| Jammu & Kashmir   | 1.81      | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Jharkhand         | 1.92      | 1.20      | 2.52      | 1.66      | 0.95      |
| Karnataka         | 0.83      | (0.64)    | 0.32      | 1.08      | 0.69      |
| Kerala            | 0.19      | (0.03)    | 0.32      | 0.42      | (0.17)    |
| Ladakh            | NA        | 0.42      | 2.05      | 0.89      | (0.89)    |
| Lakshadweep       | 19.44     | NA        | NA        | NA        | NA        |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 1.23      | 0.28      | (0.22)    | 0.18      | (0.04)    |
| Maharashtra       | 0.53      | 0.08      | 1.24      | 0.28      | 0.56      |
| Manipur           | 0.07      | 0.16      | 1.16      | (0.45)    | (0.20)    |
| Meghalaya         | 0.40      | 0.56      | 0.73      | 1.28      | 0.13      |
| Mizoram           | 1.58      | 0.76      | 1.70      | 1.31      | (0.34)    |
| Nagaland          | 0.19      | (0.26)    | (0.31)    | (0.40)    | (0.50)    |
| Puducherry        | 0.08      | (0.25)    | 0.51      | (0.18)    | (0.64)    |
| Punjab            | (0.01)    | (0.27)    | 0.19      | (0.20)    | (0.30)    |
| Rajasthan         | 0.69      | (0.31)    | 0.20      | 0.31      | (0.04)    |
| Sikkim            | 0.27      | (0.00)    | (0.72)    | 0.18      | 0.33      |
| Tamil Nadu        | 1.48      | 0.93      | 0.89      | 0.11      | (0.19)    |
| Telangana         | 1.06      | 0.08      | 1.40      | 0.75      | 0.27      |
| Tripura           | (0.01)    | 0.40      | 0.80      | 0.84      | 1.40      |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 0.94      | 0.56      | 1.34      | 0.55      | 0.73      |
| Uttarakhand       | 0.10      | (0.00)    | 0.72      | 0.10      | 0.06      |
| West Bengal       | 1.16      | (0.20)    | 0.32      | 0.17      | (0.03)    |
| Private Sector    | (0.09)    | (0.26)    | (0.32)    | (0.19)    | (0.25)    |
| National          | 0.69      | 0.10      | 0.50      | 0.20      | 0.06      |

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