Discoms’ legacy dues reduce to Rs 3,300 crore from Rs 1.39 lakh crore in 4 years: Power Min

New Delhi: Outstanding legacy dues of power distribution companies (discoms) have sharply declined to about Rs 3,300 crore in March 2026 from Rs 1.39 lakh crore in June 2022, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

The reduction follows the implementation of the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, which mandated rescheduling of past dues into EMIs, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik said. Under the rules, all dues owed to generating companies, traders and transmission utilities up to June 3, 2022 were classified as legacy arrears. These have since been steadily cleared, bringing total outstanding legacy dues down to Rs 3,330 crore as of March 27, 2026.

The framework also ensured timely payment of current dues, with discoms adhering to payment time-lines to avoid regulatory action. Data from the PRAAPTI portal shows current dues at Rs 13,594 crore, taking total outstanding dues, including legacy liabilities, to Rs 16,894 crore.

The government attributed earlier payment delays to factors such as regulatory disallowances, the gap between average cost of supply and revenue realised (ACS-ARR), and delays in subsidy payments and government department dues by states. The minister highlighted that the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY), launched in 2015, aimed at financial and operational turnaround of discoms, saw participation from 27 states and five Union Terri-tories.

Additionally, the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), launched in 2021, has sanctioned works worth Rs 2.83 lakh crore for loss reduction and smart metering. Fund release under RDSS is linked to improvements in operational and financial performance, helping enforce financial discipline while reducing technical and commercial losses.