On June 22, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DREC) allowed electricity companies to increase tariffs in Delhi. The new tariff will affect consumers living in South Delhi, West Delhi, the trans-Yamuna area, old Delhi, and New Delhi. Reports suggest that the tariff will increase by 10% in regions where BSES provides electricity.
Power Minister of New Delhi Atishi Marlena said the change in tariff would not affect the consumers, especially those who were getting zero bills. In a statement, a Delhi government official told ANI, “Consumers will not be directly affected by this increase. Under the Power Purchase Agreement, electricity prices keep increasing and decreasing. Electricity becomes cheaper in winter, while the price increases slightly in summer. Every quarterly review shows a marginal increase or decrease in the prices under the power purchase agreement.”
The approval from DREC was given based on requests submitted by MYPL and BRPL. The new tariff will remain in effect till March 2024. BYPL consumers will have to pay 9.42% extra for electricity, while BRPL consumers will have to pay a 6.39% additional tariff. Consumers in the NDMC region will pay a 2% additional tariff. Consumers living in North and Northwest Delhi, where TPDDL provides electricity, will not get affected by the price change.
Delhi power minister Atishi Marlena blamed the central government for the price hike. She claimed that the central government has a mandate of blending 10% of imported coal into domestic coal for power companies. She further claimed that while domestic coal costs Rs 2,000 per tonne, imported coal costs around Rs 25,000 per tonne.
#WATCH | "The electricity tariff in Delhi is increasing only because of the mismanagement of the Central government and the increasing rates of coal blocks…There is no shortage of coal mines in India then why is the price of coal increasing, why the electricity producing… pic.twitter.com/Ml7dgEFjhB
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2023
The 10% mandate that Atishi talked about was withdrawn in August 2022. A new mandate is in place to blend a maximum of 6% of imported coal. The central government issued the order on January 9, 2023, requiring all power companies to use imported coal to the extent of 6% of their requirement. It will remain in effect until September this year.
As per the Money Control report from June 5, the power companies managed to blend an average of 3% of imported coal. The aim was to save domestic coal for peak season. Thus the claim of accusing the central government of the increase in price is misleading. Though power companies could not comply fully with the orders, India managed to save 46 MT of domestic coal.
Freebie policy of the AAP
AAP has remained in power for a long time due to its free electricity policy. The freebie policy has put a lot of financial pressure on the Delhi Government and Punjab Governments as AAP replicated it in the state. Not to forget, AAP tweaked its free electricity policy in Delhi, and it is available only to those who opted for it.
The power tariff was increased in Punjab as well. In Punjab, too, the consumers will continue to get free electricity. The burden, however, has been put on the state government. It has to be understood that nothing comes free. The subsidy the AAP government is providing has to be earned from other sources.
A similar situation has been created in Congress-ruled Karnataka, where Congress promised free electricity but increased the tariff soon after it came to power. In April this year, the tariff was also increased in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. Congress is also providing free electricity up to some units in Himachal.
