Adani Mumbai discom losses nearly double in three months

Commercial and industrial usage fell to 27%, down from 48% a year ago.

Adani Transmission, the company which runs the power distribution business in Mumbai, said its distribution losses in the three months ended June have widened to 13.5% from 7.8% a year ago. It has attributed the rise in distribution losses to lower revenue received as consumers were charged on provisional average billing as physical meter reading became a challenge amid the lockdowns to contain the outspread of the coronavirus.

The company said the distribution losses are subject to change after the recovery of payments from consumers after billing on actual electricity usage.

Discoms had to resort to provisional billing done on the basis of historical trends. Collection efficiency — the proportion of revenue collected against revenue billed — fell to 72% from 95% a year ago. Adani said that being a regulated asset, there is no impact on the Ebitda margin of its Mumbai power distribution business. Total electricity sold by Adani’s Mumbai discom in Q1FY21 fell 29% annually to 1.7 billion units.

Adani said the residential supply in its Mumbai distribution area in Q1FY21 comprised 73% of its total power sales in the quarter, up from 52% a year ago. Commercial and industrial usage fell to 27%, down from 48% a year ago. The company also said that it is entitled to late payment surcharge for delayed payment by customers. Consumers across the country have complained about receiving higher electricity bills after discoms started adjusting the charges based on actual power consumption after physical meter readings. Residential consumption was higher as people remained inside their houses throughout the lockdown periods with factories, shops and offices remaining shut.

Adani is the first company to report key parameters in the coronavirus quarter for its distribution business, which gives a rough idea of the woes faced by discoms in the lockdowns.