Govt note on 8-state discom debt rejig soon: Sources

The central government has finalized plans to restructure the burgeoning debt of power distribution companies (discoms) in eight states and the Cabinet is likely to issue a note for issue of a bill by the end of the month or early November.Sources have told CNBC-TV18 that after numerous rounds of discussion with state governments, the government has finalized a new financial restructuring plan (FRP) under which state governments will entirely take over the debt of power discoms of eight states.These states are Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar and Telangana. Sources say that the central government will not provide any financial assistance to the state discoms, but will work on coal availability to reduce costs for discoms. Lossesat the discoms end will be brought down to zero in three years times, by opting for steps such as tariff escalation.The process is expected to happen in one go and won’t spilled over phases.