How Piyush Goyal’s UDAY Program Helped Haryana Power Discom Become Profitable For The First Time Ever

Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), a state-owned power distribution company in Haryana, has eliminated losses for the first time ever since its inception. The discom, which reported losses of more than Rs 2,088 crore in 2014, has registered a profit of Rs 78 crore in the first half of the current financial year, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday (20 December).

Established in July 1999, the company has always recorded losses worth Rs 2,000 crore or more, resulting from electricity theft, non-payment of dues, transmission and distribution losses and increasing fuel surcharge. Having turned its fate, the company now plans to double the profit by the end of the current financial year.

With an intent to find a permanent solution to the financial mess that the power distribution in India is in, the Ministry of Power had launched Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). Improving operational efficiencies of discoms such as DHBVN is the primary objective of UDAY, and it seems that the scheme is making a difference.

The Minister of State with independent charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Mr. Piyush Goyal had lauded UDAY as a truly collaborative effort between the Centre and the states. When UDAY was launched, there was a lot of skepticism in the mainstream media and in the financial press around the scheme being yet another attempt to recapitalize loss-making businesses with no accountability.

Also Read: For UDAY To Work, State Governments Must Fulfill Their Part Of The Deal