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Our Bureau

KOLKATA, Jan. 22

THE over two-week-long standoff between the RPG-controlled CESC Ltd and the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) came to an end on Tuesday, with CESC agreeing to open an escrow account in favour of WBSEB.

Power sector sources said that although this account would remain operative for only three months from March 2002, CESC would follow it up with a letter of credit to cover its current dues, while clearing its past dues in monthly instalments. WBSEB, which had been restricting power supplies by nearly 170 MW daily, restored normality from peak hours today.

However CESC, which has been resorting to power cuts even during the lean morning hours when no such restriction was in force, has been asked by Mr Mrinal Banerjee, State Power Minister, to maximise its own generation, which should be of the order of nearly 700 MW.

CESC, which owes nearly Rs 900 crore to WBSEB, has been defaulting every now and then, failing to even clear its current payments which average Rs 18 crore monthly.

Under the escrow arrangement agreed after a meeting between the Power Minister, the Power Secretary and the CESC Managing Director, Mr Sumantra Banerjee, it has been agreed that at least 50 per cent of CESC's high-tension consumers will deposit their payment amounting to Rs 25 crore monthly in the escrow account which will be withdrawn by WBSEB. This apart, a payment plan has also been drawn up to liquidate past dues.

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