Delhi discoms petition DERC, cite revenue gap to seek tariff hike

Discoms in Delhi have sought a cost-reflective tariff for the current financial year through aggregate revenue requirement and true-up petitions to power regulator DERC, sources in the distribution companies said.

Electricity rates in Delhi have not been hiked since 2014.

In their true-up (reconciliation of actual and estimated accounts) petitions, the discoms have shown a revenue gap of Rs 2,906 crore. The aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) petitions project a standalone revenue gap of Rs 7,817 crore.

The petitions were uploaded on the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) website.

No official response was available from the BSES, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) or Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) over the issue.

The distribution companies submitted their petitions for truing-up of their accounts till 2021-22 and the ARR and tariff for 2023-24.

As mandated, the discoms submitted their ARRs -- practically their annual budgets -- to the DERC on May 22.

The true-up petitions from the discoms basically reconcile projected versus actual expenses. These show a substantial standalone revenue gap of around Rs 2,906 crore for the different discoms -- Rs 252 crore for NDMC, Rs 1,289 crore for BRPL, Rs 525 crore for BYPL and Rs 841 crore for TPDDL.

The ARR projects revenue gaps of Rs 7,817 crore for 2023-24 -- Rs 357 crore for NDMC, Rs 3,794 crore for BRPL, Rs 1,629 crore for BYPL and Rs 2,037 crore for TPDDL.

As there has been no tariff increase since 2014, the discoms have requested the regulator to allow a cost-reflective tariff for 2023-24 to maintain "uninterrupted" and quality power supply to consumers in Delhi, the sources said.

The discoms have already approached Delhi High Court against the DERC's business plan regulations, seeking an interim stay against their enforcement. The business plan regulations serve as the framework for tariff determination by the regulator.

The DERC seems to be in a hurry to complete the process of power tariff determination despite the positions of the chairman of the panel and member (finance) lying vacant, the sources alleged.

No immediate reaction was available from the DERC over the charges.