DERC says Delhi govt free to question Tariff Revisions in appropriate forum.

NEW DELHI . The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has in a stern missive to the state government said the latter’s questioning of the quasi-judicial institution’s decisions has been “inappropriate and unfair”. Last month, the Delhi government had written to DERC chairman PD Sudhakar questioning the basis of the tariff revisions that resulted in steep hikes in prices to the consumer between 2011 and 2014.

 

Replying to the letter, the commission said: “… tariff fixation exercise is a complex one where the commission utilises multiple controls and prudent checks on various elements, including power purchase, capex entitlement and billing system.” The commission added that all stakeholders, including consumers and the government of Delhi, were free to question the tariff fixation by filing appeals before the  Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).

 

 

The Delhi government, pointing to the power rates on the power exchange for northern region that fell by 40% in the same period, had doubted the genuineness of the DERC’s tariff revision process. As per

India Energy Exchange, the price of electricity traded in the day ahead market declined by 61% in 2009

-14 to R2.80 per unit from R7.29 per unit. The commission, however, refused to answer specific queries in the state government’s letter and said that such an exercise could have financial implications for all the concerned stakeholders. All such  allegations must be put to the test of ‘trueness’ by an appropriate appeal to the relevant forum, the regulator said.