NEW DELHI: Residents in Delhi are bracing for a steep hike in their electricity bills during the summer peak months of May–June, following a revision in the Power Purchase Adjustment Cost (PPAC).
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has approved a 7–10% increase, applicable to the capital’s three major power distribution companies—BRPL, BYPL, and TPDDL—to recover PPAC for Q3 of the 2024–25 financial year.
As per DERC’s latest order, BRPL will charge 7.25%, BYPL 8.11%, and TPDDL 10.47%—a disparity that Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are questioning.
The United Residents of Delhi (URD), an umbrella body of RWAs, alleged that the DERC panel did not follow proper procedure. “We had great hope from the Commission that it will complete the work of tariff determination by following the prescribed procedure, but this Commission conducted a virtual public hearing where not enough time was given to the stakeholders to state their case,” said URD General Secretary Saurabh Gandhi. “The process under which PPAC charges have been imposed on the people of Delhi by DERC is legally wrong,” he added.
Atul Goel, President of United Residents Joint Action Front (URJA) said, “In the name of surcharge,the DERC has added different components like pension, green cess, PPAC among others which discoms levy to consumers. We have been objecting to this but there is no transparency in the body. The Annual Recurring Revenue Reports are not made public and consumers are kept in the dark. No proper justification is provided behind increasing PPAC.”
BS Vohra, President of East Delhi RWAs Joint Action Front, added, “The PPAC charge was proposed before elections too, but then the current government, then in opposition, had criticised it. Now, no one remembers their promises of affordable power.”