The Uttar PradeshElectricity Board comes second with Rs 504 crore (Rs 265 crore energy charges and high delayed payment of Rs 238 crore). Next on the list is Rajasthan with Rs 460 crore. Outstandings from the Gujarat Electricity Board total around Rs 220 crore of which Rs 130 crore are for payment for purchasing electricity.

Other boards which owe over Rs 100 crore include Haryana (Rs 162 crore), Damodar Valley (Rs 151 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 125 crore).Arrears of some of the SEBs have been pending for many years which has resulted in a higher delayed payment charges. Of the total dues of Rs 2,433 crore to NPC, over Rs 900 crore account for the interest due to delay in payment, sources said.

Thecorporation has been urging SEBs to submit the payment schedule for the pending charges and clear them at the earliest while regularising new payments. However, some are defaulting even on new charges, sources said.Earlier, the ministry of power had announced that the electricity boards must make full payment for power drawn from state-owned power producers. Following this, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) took the extreme move of snapping supplies to some states.

NPC, however, has not attempted such a move yet. Sources say that with its limited financial resources, the corporation finds it hard to operate if payments are delayed. Since NPC is engaged in nuclear power generation, its funding sources are limited to the budgetary provision of the centre and the bond market.

The state-owned power utilities have been urging for a level playing field like the private sector. They are committing payment guarantees even through escrow accounts to independent power producers. This is despite the factthat price of electricity bought from private companies is higher than that paid to NPC and other such organisations. Unless these utilities also given rights at par with IPPs they will not be able to compete, sources said.