Sheila writes to Anil Ambani, seeks 24x7 power supply

City has been facing power cuts ranging for upto 10 hours and BJP has been stepping up attack on the CM

With long outages threatening to become a major political issue ahead of assembly polls, a worried Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has asked Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Infrastructure which runs two power distribution companies, to take steps to "rectify" the problem and ensure round-the-clock electricity supply.

In a letter to Ambani, Dikshit said the power supply by BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL)- has "worsened" in the city contrary to expectation of improvement and asked him to take remedial measures at the earliest.

The Chief Minister said she was "shocked" to know that the two discoms run by Reliance Infrastructure owed dues to the tune of Rs 3,337 crore to two Delhi Government-run power generation and transmission companies.

"In fact the power supply situation would have been much worse, but for the generosity shown to both the discoms in the interest of the consumers by the companies owned by the Delhi Government.In fact when the actual amount of outstanding dues came to my notice, I was shocked," she said.

Seeking immediate payment of the dues, Dikshit said Reliance Infrastructure should immediately provide financial assistance to its two discoms so that they can pay up the amount.

"The situation of these two companies has become untenable and Reliance Infra should immediately support BSES companies by way of infusion of cash so that these outstanding can be liquidated without any further delay," said Dikshit in the letter.

Dikshit said failure of BSES discoms to pay up the dues and strengthen the distribution network besides besides low consumer satisfaction have the potential to "derail" the power sector reform in the city.

The city has been facing power cuts ranging for upto 10 hours and BJP has been stepping up attack on Dikshit for the long outages.

Supply of power and water are likely to be major issues in the run up to the assembly polls slated for November.