AAP government didn't let power rates go up in Delhi: Sisodia

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said the AAP government did not let the power rates (usage charges) go up in the city for the third consecutive year.

"Wherever the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, they increased electricity tariffs while this is the consecutive third year when we did not let the power rates increase in Delhi. This was possible only because the AAP is in power here," Sisodia told reporters here.

"This is a big achievement of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government," he added.

He, however, said that a pension surcharge of 3.7 per cent has been imposed to give pension to 22,000 workers.

"It is negligible and it will not make much difference. Surcharge is Rs 4.5 to Rs 35 for some groups. While for high-end users -- who use more than 1,000 units -- it will be around Rs 200," he said.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Thursday kept the usage charges for power consumers in Delhi unchanged but announced a marginal hike in the "fixed charge" component of the power tariff -- between Rs 5 and Rs 75.

There will be no change in any of the charges for consumers with 2kW connection, who will continue to pay Rs 40. Low-end users having an electricity connection of 1kW will not pay a fixed charge of Rs 20, down from the earlier Rs 40.

Consumers with 3kW, 4kW and 5kW connections will now pay a revised fixed charge of Rs 105, Rs 140 and Rs 175, respectively, as against Rs 100 earlier.

--IANS

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