Steeper power tariff hike likely for south, west Delhi

The distribution company supplying power to south and west Delhi wants a bigger tariff hike than what it had earlier sought.

The distribution company supplying power to south and west Delhi wants a bigger tariff hike than what it had earlier sought.

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BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), which had in December proposed a 1.61% tariff hike for this year, has now sent a revised petition to power regulator DERC, seeking an increase of 6.5%.

The three power distribution companies — BRPL, BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) — had submitted their petitions in December for power tariff hikes to be applicable from next month. Now, it is only the BRPL that wants a steeper hike than what it had earlier sought.

Confirming the move, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman PD Sudhakar said: "BRPL has asked for an amendment in the petition that it submitted last year. It now wants a power tariff increase of 6.5%. We have received its application and a decision will be taken in the next few days."

Justifying the move, a BRPL spokesperson said: “Our original petition was submitted in December 2012 and admitted on January 16, 2013. Subsequently, DERC, after the preliminary examination of all petitions, suggested us to align our tariff proposal with that of other Delhi discoms. As advised by the DERC, BRPL has revised its tariff hike proposal from 1.61% to 6.5% based on the audited numbers of all discoms as mandated in the multi-year-tariff regulations.”

However, DERC officials maintained that they had not advised the discom to revise its tariff proposal.