Why in news:

• The power utilities of Punjab and Haryana have shown a significant improvement in the 11th National Annual Ranking Report presented by the Union ministry of power.

Key Points:

• The annual integrated rating exercise is carried out under the approval and guidance of the power ministry, since 2012. The present report covers 71 power distribution utilities, comprising 45 state discoms, 14 private discoms and 12 power departments across India.
• The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has jumped five places to 11th position with an assessment score of 83.81% in the latest report. It has also made a shift from B to A category.
• The gap between average cost of supply per unit of power (ACS) and average revenue realised (ARR) improved from 0.08 in financial year 2021-22 to -0.18 in 2022-23 in Punjab. Also, the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses improved from 18.5% in the financial year 2021-22 to 11.7% in 2022-23, driven majorly by improvement in collection efficiency – from 92% to 100%.
• According to the concerned officials of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), both Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) have been placed in A+ group.
• The DHBVN has improved its assessment from 85.71% to 89.31% and is placed in 9th position, while the UHBVN has improved its position from A to A+ with a score of 87.61%, he said. The DHBVN is among the top performers as far as the ACS-ARR gap is concerned, with a collection efficiency of 100%.
• The UHBVN improved on the ACS-ARR gap from -0.22 in the financial year 2021-22 to -0.34 in the financial year 2022-23. Currently, the UHBVN has 100% collection efficiency and automatic pass-through of fuel cost.