In a positive development, the cumulative losses of the state-owned power distribution companies dropped by 38 per cent last fiscal to Rs 38,000 crore on the back of reduced operational and commercial losses, reports The Economic Times.

The development was shared by Union Minister for Power and New And Renewable Energy RK Singh. He added that the gap between the average cost of supply and revenue of discoms reduced to 38 paise in 2019-20 against 42 paise a year ago. He also shared that the cumulative losses in 2018-19 stood at a much higher Rs 61,000 crore.

The ninth edition of annual integrated ratings of discoms issued by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) showed that the average Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) loss level of rated discoms has improved to 21.16 per cent in FY 2020 as compared to 21.85 per cent in FY 2019.

The report noted that 20 of the rated power distribution entities had shown an improvement in their AT&C loss levels during FY 2020 (19 in the previous year). Nine utilities have reported AT&C loss levels within 15 per cent compared to eight utilities in FY 2019. Also, four distribution utilities of Gujarat besides southern Haryana discom figured highest in the ranking, indicating very high operational and financial performance.