APTEL orders DERC to liquidate ₹38,500 crore discom dues in 3 weeks

Tribunal rejects DERC's plea for more time, flags delay in clearing regulatory assets; move may lead to higher power tariffs in Delhi

The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), on Monday, rejected the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC)’s plea, which sought three months’ time to clear dues of over ₹38,500 crore linked to power distribution utilities. The tribunal ordered DERC to issue an order within three weeks to liquidate the regulatory assets (RA) accumulated since 2007. The move, when implemented, may jack up power prices in the national capital.

 

"The commission has been delaying the liquidation of regulatory assets for one reason or the other, thereby permitting an increase in the amount of regulatory assets day by day, which would place additional burden upon the end consumers of electricity in the NCT of Delhi,” APTEL said in an order.

 

DERC had earlier moved the tribunal seeking permission to have the accounts of Delhi power discoms audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). APTEL rejected DERC's proposal in the order issued on Monday. Regulatory assets are created when the costs incurred by discoms are not fully recovered through tariffs.

 

The Supreme Court had in August 2025 directed all state electricity regulators to begin clearing dues from April 2024 and complete the process by April 2028. It also allowed regulators to revise tariffs, if needed, to recover the money.

 

Power tariffs were last revised in Delhi in 2014-15. The lack of timely tariff revision led to the ballooning of the dues to ₹38,500 crore. According to a January 2026 affidavit filed by DERC in APTEL, the dues constitute ₹19,174 crore for BRPL, ₹12,333 crore for BYPL, and ₹7,046 crore for Tata Power Delhi Distribution (TPDDL).