Delhi Electricity Rates To Rise From April? Delhi Govt Preparing To Clear Pending Dues

The electricity rates in Delhi may rise in April as the government is preparing for disbursal of pending dues of over Rs 38,000 crore to the three power discoms, reported PTI, citing officials on Monday, March 23.

As per news agency PTI, the electricity bills in Delhi are likely to climb from April. The surge will come as the Delhi government is preparing to release more than Rs 38,000 crore in long-pending dues to the three private power discoms, while also working on subsidies to soften the tariff increase for consumers.

The administration has planned to cover a part of the higher power tariff through budget support, reported PTI, citing officials. This would help in minimising the impact of the power rate hike on Delhi residents.

The households feel a smaller shock, even as the regulatory assets and interest accumulated over the years are finally cleared for BRPL, BYPL and TPDDL.

Delhi Electricity Tariff

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission informed the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity in January that total regulatory assets in the capital stand at Rs 38,552 crore, including expenditures already approved for electricity supply and the additional carrying costs that have built up because recovery has been delayed.

According to the DERC filing, BRPL is owed Rs 19,174 crore, BYPL is due Rs 12,333 crore, and TPDDL has pending dues of Rs 7,046 crore, with the original sums rising sharply over time as interest gets added during the long period without full tariff recovery.

Delhi Electricity Tariff Recovery Bill

The regulatory assets and carrying costs of Rs 27,200 crore is supposed to be paid to BRPL, BYPL and TPDDL within seven years, as per the Supreme Court order issued in August last year. The apex court also asked DERC to frame a recovery plan, calculate interest properly and conduct an audit on the extended delay.

Regulatory assets, which are costs meant for future recovery, have grown because electricity tariffs were not raised for around a decade under Aam Aadmi Party rule, and Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood said in March last year that discoms were authorised to recover about Rs 27,000 crore through a higher regulatory asset surcharge over seven years, indicating that Delhi electricity tariff levels may rise but are expected to be partly offset by government subsidy measures.