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Product cover image for WBSEDCL: Should Power Tariffs Have Discount Schemes?

WBSEDCL: Should Power Tariffs Have Discount Schemes?

Dipankar Bose, Sabyasachi Sengupta

Product #:W45939
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Finance, Operations Management
Setting:India, 2022
Details:Case (PDF) • 10 pages • 2025-10-29

Subjects:

Financial statementsFinance and investing

Industries:

Utilities sector

Geography:

IndiaAsia
Your Price:$9.71

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West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) faced challenges in managing its day-to-day cash requirements. Substantial cash was often blocked in receivables from domestic customers and regulatory deferrals. The company regularly took short-term loans from banks to meet its day-to-day needs, resulting in a debt-trap that the company wanted to avoid. WBSEDCL considered offering a cash discount to domestic customers for expediting collections, thereby improving overall cash management practices. Using the actual financials, a non-linear optimization model was developed to identify the best discount percentage to maximize the key financial parameters for the company.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for teaching in core courses in corporate finance or operations research, for students studying in postgraduate management programs, or for students specializing in accounting or finance. The case can also be taught in executive programs aimed at participants with accounting or financial backgrounds. It is expected that the students already have a basic understanding of running MS Excel, and of the basic features of a balance sheet and profit and loss (P&L) statement. Upon working through the materials in this case, students will learn to do the following:
  • Identify issues and challenges of increasing cash flows for a utility service provider.
  • Recommend effective methods to increase cash flow by giving discounts to consumers.
  • Understand the method of preparing a template for formulating optimization problems.
  • Learn how to perform a sensitivity analysis for various scenarios.
  • Understand how to use MS Excel Solver to determine the best discount level.
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Case Study: WBSEDCL: Should Power Tariffs Have Discount Schemes? (English version) | Ivey Publishing