DERC: New power tariff order soon
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s revised power tariff order for the year 2021-22 will be out any day now, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (DERC) new chairperson justice (retired) Shabihul Hasnain said on Tuesday, putting an end to months of suspense over the fate of the annual revision.
“The tariff order will come very soon, in just a few days. It is likely to be issued this week itself as we are bound by an affidavit in the court for it to be released by this month,” said Hasnain.
Electricity prices, surcharges and other costs are supposed to be revised every financial year based on the petitions submitted by the distribution companies (discoms). According to the rules, all state power regulators have to mandatorily issue the tariff orders before April every year. However, Delhi has seen repeated delays in this regard.
Hasnain’s comment came at a time when several residents’ welfare associations (RWAS) has begun raising questions over the inordinate delays in rolling out the new tariff order for Delhi. The United Residents of Delhi (URD), which is a collective of around 1,800 RWAS in the city, stated that the tariff order might have to be redone because of a new chairperson assuming office.
“The public hearing and all the other processes should be redone as per the electricity Act. Otherwise the tariff order for this year was ready, but couldn’t be released due to disagreements between the lone member AK Ambasht and former chairperson justice (retired) SS Chauhan,” said Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary of URD.
However, Hasnain refuted the claims and said none of the processes have to be redone as the work of the commission cannot get affected simply by a vacancy, even if it is that of the chairperson. “It is not true that the order had to be redone. Some routine checks have to be run, and that’s it,” he said.
This year, discoms BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna have projected a revenue gap of ₹1,703 crore and ₹1,148 crore respectively for 2021-22, while Tata Power expected a gap of ₹1,108 crore. The companies have put the cumulative revenue gap (till 2019-20) at ₹28,623 crore (BRPL), ₹19,123 crore (BYPL) and ₹3,810 crore (TPDDL). Discoms have been demanding a power tariff hike over the last six years.
However, the Delhi government is unlikely to increase tariffs in the national Capital as it is one of the key models of its governance which the Aam Aadmi Party plans to showcase in the upcoming MCD elections, and the assembly elections it intends to fight in six states such as Gujarat, Punjab, Goa and Uttar Pradesh in two years.