No hike in power tariff in Delhi: DERC

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Thursday decided not to increase electricity tariff in the national capital.

"The commission, after duly analysing the petitions submitted by the utilities and considering the suggestions from stakeholders, has decided to retain the tariff for financial year 2015-16 at prevailing levels," said an official statement from DERC.

The distribution utilities in the city -- Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) -- had filed petitions for determination of Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and electricity tariff for the 2015-16 financial year.

The statement said that as per their assessment of the tariff petitions, the companies actually showed a surplus of Rs.455 crore till financial year 2013-14.

As there was surplus revenue, which will additionally liquidate the principal amount of the accumulated revenue gap, the commission has preferred that electricity tariff will remain at existing levels, the statement said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, which has been fighting against increased power tariff, welcomed the DERC decision.

Power Minister Satyendar Jain in a statement said: "At first sight, it appears the DERC has kept the sentiments of the people of Delhi and their elected representatives in mind while deciding the tariff petitions of discoms for the current financial year."

Though the DERC has not announced any hike in electricity tariff, the government was of the firm view that tariff should have been reduced, he said.

Jain said the city government had conveyed its view to the DERC that in the wake of reported findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General, electricity tariff should be reduced.

--Indo-Asian News service

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