NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will provide relief from fixed charges on electricity being levied upon industries and commercial units in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met traders and industrial associations and assured them that adequate steps will be taken to provide relief regarding the fixed power charges.
The traders and industrialists in the city have been demanding relief from fixed charges, saying their shops and factories were closed due to the lockdown and also because they suffered losses due to the shutdown of all commercial and industrial activities.
Over the last few days, many trader associations and industrial associations have met the chief minister and requested him to intervene in this regard.
“CM assured the representatives of the traders and industrial associations that steps to provide ease for fixed power charges, to owners of commercial and industrial units will be taken by the Delhi government as soon as possible,” said the government in a statement. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission recently announced a new power tariff for 2020-21 with no hike in the rates.
However, it did not provide any relief on fixed charges for industrial units. The non-domestic and industrial consumers of electricity in Delhi have to pay Rs 250 per kVA as monthly fixed charges. Kejriwal government has pointed out that the revenue situation of the Delhi government has taken a hit owing to the complete shutdown of businesses and the economy due to the pandemic.
The revenue has fallen from Rs 3,500 crore in April in the previous year to Rs 300 crore this year in for the same month. Following the Unlock guidelines of the Centre, the Delhi government has allowed several economic activities at several stages. It has announced various measures to revive the economy of Delhi.
A special committee under the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) constituted a 12-member expert committee to explore economic reform measures to help businesses recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.