Delhi citizens: Your power bills may rise from April

Delhi residents could soon see an increase in their electricity bills from April, as the government prepares to clear long-pending dues of over ₹38,000 crore to the city’s three private power distribution companies, news agency PTI reported, citing officials.  

To soften the impact, the government is likely to continue subsidies even as the recovery process begins.

These dues come from what are called regulatory assets. In simple terms, these are costs that discoms have already incurred while supplying power but have not yet recovered from consumers. The amount has steadily built up over the years, largely because there has been no major tariff increase in the past decade under the Aam Aadmi Party government.

In August last year, the Supreme Court directed that these regulatory assets, along with carrying costs of ₹27,200 crore, be paid to the three discoms, BRPL, BYPL, and TPDDL, over seven years.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) later told the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in January that the total regulatory assets in the city had climbed to ₹38,552 crore.

As per DERC’s filing, the dues include ₹19,174 crore for BRPL, ₹12,333 crore for BYPL, and ₹7,046 crore for TPDDL. These are approved expenses incurred by the discoms in supplying electricity to consumers.

Officials said the amount has grown significantly over time due to interest piling up, as recovery was delayed.

The Supreme Court also asked DERC to prepare a clear recovery plan, factor in the carrying costs, and conduct a detailed audit to explain why the recovery took so long.

The dues are likely to be recovered through an additional surcharge on electricity bills, which will be spread over a period of seven years.

Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood had earlier flagged this possibility. In March last year, he said discoms had been allowed to recover around ₹27,000 crore in regulatory assets, indicating that electricity tariffs in the city could go up.

(With inputs from PTI)