Delhiites dishing out too much for power: DERC

If the new power tariff is not implemented, Delhiites will continue to pay Rs 300 crore more per month for electricity, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) Brijender Singh told the Delhi government in a letter on Thursday.

If the new power tariff is not implemented, Delhiites will continue to pay Rs 300 crore more per month for electricity, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) Brijender Singh told the Delhi government in a letter on Thursday.

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The letter, which is the “statutory advice” of the Commission to the government in a matter related to the financial health of the three private discoms, also says that the discoms have lied to the government about their financial position.

As per the letter, discoms are cash-rich, with a combined surplus of Rs. 3,577 crore, which, if transferred to them as part of tariff determination process, the power tariff would see a decrease.

“This (the stalling of the tariff order) has enabled the discoms to overcharge the consumer to the extent of about Rs. 300 crore per month starting from 01.04.2010,” Singh stated in his letter.

While stalling the tariff order a day before it was to be announced on May 4, the government had asked the DERC to first advise it on the concerns of the three discoms that they were in the red and that they would not be in a position to purchase power, before announcing the tariff.

Now that the advice has been given, a section of the government is not willing to count it as an official missive from the Commission as only the chairman has signed it and not the other two members — SR Sethi and Shyam Wadhera.

“How can we consider it as a statutory advice when a majority of the commission has not approved. The chairman alone is not the whole commission,” said a senior power department official.

Singh stated the advice was nevertheless based on “unanimous decisions of the commission on the approach in principle for finalisation of tariff orders for 2010-11”.

While two members of the commission did not sign the advice Sethi had approved the actual draft tariff order on April 28th along with the chairman.

On April 30, Singh stated in his letter, the regulator told the state government that power companies were being given Rs. 1775 crore more than they had asked for to arrange bilateral power purchases.