Govt hopes to resolve power tariff row
A day after Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) rejected demands for power tariff hike, one of the three discoms on Tuesday refuted claims of the statutory power regulator on financial position of the power distribution companies. Amidst DERC and discoms engaged in claims and counter claims, the Delhi government on Tuesday hoped the amicable solution to the stand off by stating that it too has options to intervene in the matter.
The BSES-Yamuna, one of the three discoms, on Tuesday shot off its reply to the DERC and refuted the claim of the regulator that it had a cash profit of Rs 157.33 crores. “You have arrived at a cash profit of Rs 157.33 crores after accounting for Rs 262.55 crores as regulatory assets, which is an income receivable from future tariff. In fact after profit after tax comes to a loss of Rs 185.70 crores,” the BSES-Yamuna has stated in its letter to the DERC.
Another discom, BSES-Rajdhani, is likely to send its reply to the DERC this week, after they were given a week’s time to reply on the letters of the regulator in which it had rejected point by point the demands of for tariff hike.
Meanwhile, a senior Delhi government official wondered if the DERC was indulging in populist measures. “The power tariff order should come in July in place of April and the whole process of holding talks should be initiated in March so that the concluding financial year is accounted for in the new tariff order. The Delhi government does not want that the next year the power tariff is hiked steeply, when the expenditure for 2009-10 is taken into account,” stated the official. He added that the city government would not allow the DERC to announce the new tariff order if it failed to address genuine grievances of discoms.
Chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, however, stated that he hoped that the whole matter would be amicably resolved. Mr Mehta has been given the additional charge of the power department.
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