Calcutta, Aug. 28 :    Calcutta, Aug. 28:  Black Wednesday. That's what Calcuttans will have to brace for, with the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) deciding to slash power supply to CESC. At present, CESC draws 330 mw from WBSEB. But from Wednesday, the Board will supply only 210 mw to the private power utility. The result - widespread power cuts 'for at least an hour every evening' in large parts of the city. Besides Greater Calcutta, parts of Howrah and Hooghly will also be affected. Senior WBSEB officials said on Tuesday that CESC 'has not complied with the agreement' it had entered into for clearance of dues and payment of current energy bills. 'Under the circumstances, we have decided to slash supply by 120 mw. This will continue till CESC clears its dues,' they said. 'CESC initially paid Rs 70 crore as a lumpsum-agreed amount and had been paying the current monthly bills in full till May 2001. But since June, it has been defaulting in its monthly bills. Against the bill of Rs 40 crore for June, CESC has paid Rs 23 crore. It has fully defaulted in paying the July 2001 bill of Rs 32 crore, payable by August 17,' Board officials said. CESC officials, however, said they have paid WBSEB Rs 216 crore since January 2001 out of Rs 233 crore payable for arrears and made payments in full up to June. 'Mobilising funds from lenders is a problem at the moment. Once the tariff award is announced, progressive regularisation will begin of WBSEB's payments from the additional funds,' a CESC official explained. Power minister Mrinal Banerjee said: 'WBSEB is meeting the demand of its consumers and supplying power to CESC by purchasing power from outside sources. The Board is required to pay its power-purchase bills through letters of credit. So, it has become difficult for the Board to continue power supply to CESC without ensuring payment. After all, this is a business deal.'