Delhiites should brace themselves for a power tariff hike of up to 20 per cent this week.
According to sources, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has completed the process of analysing the power purchase adjustment petitions submitted by the discoms and will announce the percentage surcharge to be imposed within a day or two.
The move comes after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) directed the State power regulator to restore a surcharge within three months to compensate the discoms for a rise in their power purchases. The DERC got three weeks to implement the new surcharges, with the final deadline being June 15.
The APTEL had asked the power regulator to pass on the Power Purchase Adjustment Cost (PPAC) for two quarters (from October 2014 to March 2015) to private power distribution companies within three weeks. “We direct the DERC to determine the PPAC for the above said third and fourth quarter within three weeks from today, otherwise face the consequences,” the APTEL order read. The order was passed by the APTEL after Tata Power filed a petition seeking the same. The two discoms of the BSES later followed suit.
In November, the DERC had announced a PPAC surcharge only to revoke it the next day. It had said that the NTPC, from where Delhi discoms draw a major chunk of power, had not submitted all the required documents.
The DERC has completed the process of analysing the power purchase adjustment petitions submitted by the discoms