NEW DELHI: Electricity bills in Delhi may rise in the coming months after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) rejected a request from the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to delay repayment of dues totalling Rs 38,552 crore.
DERC sought additional time to distribute the financial impact on consumers and prevent a sudden increase in bills. The tribunal has directed DERC to begin liquidating regulatory assets within three weeks from April 20, stressing the need for timely compliance with the Supreme Court’s mandate. The order was passed by a bench of Judicial Member Virender Bhat and Officiating Chairperson Seema Gupta.
APTEL has also set aside the DERC’s move to conduct an audit of power distribution companies (Discoms) through the Comptroller and Auditor General. Following this, DERC has invited bids for the hiring of audit services to undertake Verification, Reconciliation & Finalisation of Enforcement Sales for BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL).
DERC may order the recovery of Rs 38,552 crore through a higher regulatory asset surcharge on power bills. The amount includes Rs 19,174 crore for BRPL, Rs 12,333 crore for BYPL and Rs 7,046 crore for TPDDL.
The bench said “… the Commission has been delaying the liquidation of regulatory assets for one reason or another, thereby permitting an increase in the amount of regulatory assets day by day, which would place additional burden upon the end consumers of the electricity in the NCT of Delhi”.