Fresh tenders for audit of discoms

Power lines for Red Electrica Corp. hang from pylons near the company's electricity distribution plant in Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain, on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Red Electrica Corp. SA fell the most in more than two weeks in Madrid trading after Bolivian President Evo Morales said he would nationalize the Spanish grid operator's unit in the South American country. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Friday cancelled the tenders it had floated for audit of billing and metering systems of the three distribution companies operating in the city. While earlier the commission had invited only Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) empanelled auditors for the purpose, now it has opened the same to all interested auditors.

Speaking to The Hindu, DERC chairperson PD Sudhakar said, “There were lots of objections raised by the bidders. We want to conduct it in a fair manner. We will float fresh tenders and it will be open for all.”

The audit, according to the Commission, will bring out discrepancies, lapses or deficiencies in the metering and billing systems of the three power discoms – BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL). It is supposed to be carried out for the current operational electricity billing system for the period commencing from April 1, 2014 up to June 30, 2015.

Surprisingly, last such audit was carried out by the power regulator over four years ago.

Power experts, however, have suggested that audit of the discoms’ billing systems should be done every year simultaneously along with the Commission’s prudence check during the annual tariff revision.

DERC cancels tenders which were only for TRAI empanelled auditors after objections by bidders