BSES seeks Rs 500-crore bailout, says cash will last for only a month

NEW DELHI: BSES, which runs the Capital's two power distribution companies, has sought a bailout of Rs 500 crore, saying it has just enough cash to last barely a month.

"We are struggling to stay afloat. We should be given some cost benefits otherwise we will bleed to death," chief executive officer and director Lalit Jalan said on Wednesday.

Subsidiaries BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna have accumulated losses of Rs 7,000 crore and lose Rs 8-9 crore daily because of "inadequate" tariffs.

A tariff hike of at least Rs 2 per unit in Delhi was indispensable, Jalan said, adding that while the cost of power had increased by 200% over past eight years, retail tariffs had increased by 15%. Power tariffs were last revised in 2005.

"There is an unprecedented liquidity crunch. We have debt of over Rs 9,000 crore and banks are not willing to extend any more loans to us," Jalan said.

Reliance Infrastructure-owned BSES has sought an interim support of Rs 500 crore from the government and will have to borrow Rs 4,245 crore in this financial year. It is also talking to Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation to raise funds.