Power dept told to implement subsidy policy for tenants

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attended a series of meetings before taking off for Bengaluru for his annual 10-day trip for naturopathy treatment. In his meeting with the Power Department and distribution companies (discoms), Kejriwal directed implementation of a subsidy policy for tenants at the earliest.

Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain, Principal Secretary and other senior officials of the Power Department, and top officials of the three discoms attended the meeting, where the Chief Minister reviewed the current scenario of power in the city.

The Chief Minister has sought “everyday status report of all areas in Delhi with problems/action with the solution,” an official said.

The department, the official said, has also been asked to implement the subsidy policy for tenants as soon as possible.

“The CM directed officials to send daily reports to him, consisting details of power cuts, their duration and reasons, action taken and how long will it take to solve them,” he added.

This month, the all-time record for peak power demand was broken four times.

The Power department and discoms expect the peak demand to breach 7,000 mega watt mark later this year.

Jain had earlier predicted the 7,000 MW power demand, adding that enough electricity was available to meet the rising demand. The reports will be sent to the Chief Minister everyday from Friday.

Kejriwal also sought the status of the policy of subsidy to the tenants and directed the department to implement it as soon as possible.

Delhi government had first introduced a 50 per cent subsidy for people consuming up to 400 units per month in December 2013, when Aam Aadmi Party had been in power for 49 days. This was brought back in February 2015, when AAP returned to power with an absolute majority.