New Delhi, March 11 (IANS): Adani Electricity Mumbai has topped the rating list of India's 55 power distribution companies (discoms) released by the Union Power Ministry on Monday.

The 12th Edition of Integrated Rating of Discoms, which evaluated the performance of 55 electricity distribution utilities, rated 12 utilities with the highest ranking of A+.

In the list, Torrent Power Surat ranked at the second position, Torrent Power Ahmedabad at the third position, followed by Gujarat's state power utilities Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) and Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL) at fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Among the 42 state-run power utilities which have been rated, nine belonging to Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have earned a rating of either A+ or A.

Addressing the power sector stakeholders at the release event held at Shram Shakti Bhawan here, Union Power Minister R.K. Singh congratulated the Discoms for overall improvement in their performance and spoke of the importance of ratings to inform the public and improve performance.

The Union Minister also observed that AT&C losses of discoms have come down and that they have been on a downward trajectory.

"The billing efficiency has gone up and the collection efficiency was already high. Our motive behind implementing smart prepaid meters is to increase these efficiencies to 100 per cent, which will also ensure that the AT&C losses of discoms come down to single-digit," he said.

He said that some states which were not performing well have now started performing well. "However, one of the surprising things we have noticed is that some states which are regarded as developed or fast-developing have shown lower ratings for their Discoms."

The Union Minister noted that one of the reasons for the increase in power prices is that many discoms have not tied up resources for long-term power supply, making them dependent on short-term power purchases which is naturally higher than long-term prices.

"This is one thing we are persuading the discoms, to enter into long-term PPAs for at least 85 per cent of their electricity requirement. We have also laid down rules which specify penalties for gratuitous load-shedding. We have also laid consumer grievance redressal forums," he said.

Key findings of the 12th Edition of the Integrated Rating of Discoms are:

• AT&C losses improved to 15.4 per cent in FY23, Billing Efficiency improved to 87.0 per cent and Collection Efficiency remained high at 97.3 per cent.

• Late Payment Surcharge Rules drove reduction in payables to generation and transmission companies. Days Payable reduced to 126 days and Days Receivable also reduced to 119 days.

• State governments disbursed 108 per cent of amounts booked for tariff subsidy during FY23. Further, a few states supported financial losses of discoms through subsidy grants, totalling to Rs 44,000 crores during the year.

• Average power purchase cost increased by 71 paise/kWh during FY23, driven by 8 per cent growth in power demand, more expensive coal imports and higher exchange prices, especially during summers

• ACS-ARR gap, the cash-adjusted gap per unit energy, increased to 55 paise/kWh in FY23 due to purchase cost not being passed on fully to consumers.