n Rajasthan, Haryana, UP & AP still negotiating

Bankers continue to negotiate with State Electricity Boards (SEBs) of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for a recast of their debt with Tamil Nadu being the only state so far to have signed on for the government?s financial restructuring plan (FRP) for SEBs. Punjab is understood to have distanced itself from the scheme while the Madhya Pradesh government is believed to be undecided. Discoms in UP accounted for roughly 40% of the total outstanding of close to R60,000 crore in FY11; six states account for 80% of the payables.

Bank of Baroda (BOB) executive director SK Jain told FE on Monday that the Rajasthan SEB and its consortium of lenders have not yet finalised the details of the debt restructuring package. ?We are examining the package and though we have decided on a two-year moratorium on repayment, the coupon rate on the bonds have not been decided as of yet,? Jain said. BoB is the nodal bank for the Rajasthan SEB restructuring with an exposure of R2,260 crore. The SEB has proposed a tariff hike of R0.75/ unit for 2013-14 after having upped tariff by 19% in 2012-13 and 23% last fiscal.

A Canara Bank executive said that there was still some disagreement between the banks and the SEBs over issues like interest rate on bonds. ?I am not sure if all the SEB packages will be negotiated in time for the March 31 deadline,? the official said. Canara Bank is the nodal bank for the Haryana and Punjab SEBs. While the Haryana SEB?s recast package has not been finalised as of yet, the SEB has filed for a tariff hike of R0.75/unit for FY14. In 2012-13 it implemented a 19% hike in tariffs.

Bank of India ED M Raghavan said: ?We have an exposure of Rs 4,000 crore across Rajasthan, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and approximately Rs 1,700-1,800 crore worth of loans qualify for restructuring. So far we have not heard from any of the states and we are expecting it to come within the next two-three days.

power play

* Punjab has distanced itself from the scheme while MP is undecided

* UP discoms accounted for roughly 40% of the total outstanding in FY11

* BoB is the nodal bank for Rajasthan SEB rejig with an exposure of R2,260 cr

* Haryana SEB?s recast has not been finalised but it has filed for a tariff hike