Power sector gets ₹150 crore in Delhi budget, share of renewables up

Electricity bill for consumers consuming power of up to 400 units came down by half when compared to April 2015. For the past four years, 90% of households in Delhi are getting the benefit of subsidies in electricity rates.

Delhi residents pay the lowest power bills among all metropolitan cities in India, finance minister Manish Sisodia said in his budget speech on Tuesday.

Delhi residents pay the lowest power bills among all metropolitan cities in India, finance minister Manish Sisodia said in his budget speech on Tuesday. (ANI)

“Delhi provides the cheapest electricity among the metropolitan cities of the country. Our government has been successful in containing the power tariffs and there has been no increase in it for the past four years,” Sisodia said. The budget kept aside ₹150 crore for reforms in the electricity sector in the coming financial year.

He said one of the first steps taken by the government after coming to power in 2015 was to reduce the electricity bills. In March 2015, the electricity bill was reduced by 50%.

Electricity bill for consumers consuming power of up to 400 units came down by half when compared to April 2015. For the past four years, 90% of households in Delhi are getting the benefit of subsidies in electricity rates.

The national capital’s share of renewable energy has also shot up from 23MW in 2015-16 to 177MW in 2018-19. Of this, 125MW is solar power. Solar plants are being set up on rooftops of houses, offices and societies. This scheme is becoming popular, Sisodia added.

The outcome budget of the power department released on Monday stated that 65% of the projects were “on track”.

Earlier, the Economic Survey of Delhi had noted that the aggregate technical and commercial losses were down to 9.41%.