NEW DELHI: Almost five million power consumers or around two crore residents of South, East, West and Central Delhi during this festive season will not face blackouts as the Supreme Court recently restrained Delhi power utilities (IPGCL, PPCL and DTL) from disconnecting electricity power supply to Anil Ambani-controlled BSES firms that distribute power in the Capital.
A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian asked the power utilities to maintain the status quo until further orders.
The bench also issued notice in the application preferred by BSES Discoms, seeking a direction to IPGCL, PPCL and the Delhi Government to act in accordance with the SC’s earlier orders and not take any coercive steps against them, including regulation of power supply/action under the LPSC Rules, 2022 till disposal of their related petitions.
For BSES, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Dhruv Mehta argued that any regulation of power supply would lead to power disruptions and blackout in case of Delhi power utilities withdrawing short term open access. It would also jeopardise the energy security scenario in the Capital, senior counsels said.
BSES’s application was filed against the backdrop of Delhi power utilities arbitrarily seeking payment of dues and threatening disconnection of supply to BSES discoms. On March 26, 2014 and May 12, 2016 had granted protection to Discoms from no coercive action in relation to payment of current dues and thus actions of Delhi Power Utilities were in violation of the orders. The application also stated that in compliance with SC orders, BSES Discoms have been making payments to Delhi Power Utilities after taking into account the subsidy sanctioned by the Delhi government.
“In case the amount due to the BSES Discoms was allowed by DERC in timely manner, there would not have been delay in making payments to Delhi Utilities,” the application stated.
Discoms in their writ which is pending before the SC had also stated that the difficulties faced by them in making timely payment to suppliers was due to regulatory inactions, policies and failures on the part of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission