Delhi govt seeking legal advice over SC's order of clearing power dues to discoms

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) The Delhi government is seeking legal advice over the recent Supreme Court order directing the payment of Rs 27,000 crore in dues to the city's three discoms, and is likely to approach the court soon for a suitable remedy.
    Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood blamed the previous AAP government for the mounting regulatory assets.
    "Due to the corruption and mismanagement of the AAP government, the regulatory assets rose to over Rs 27,000 crore from Rs 8,000 crore in 2014," he told PTI.
    Aam Aadmi Party, in a statement, alleged the BJP government was looking for some "excuse" to hike the electricity rates.
    "The BJP government is deliberately trying to hike the electricity rate. They are just hunting for excuses to do it. The AAP is not in power, now you (BJP) arrange the funds. What's the problem? If you claim the Central government can give that money, then bring it from there. Who is stopping you?" the opposition party stated.
    Power Minister Sood said the Delhi government was not satisfied with the evaluation of regulatory assets of the discoms by the power regulator.
    "We are seeking legal advice before approaching the Supreme Court with a suitable plea in this matter," Sood said, adding the Delhi government was committed to protecting the interests of the city's electricity consumers.
    He said the AAP, which is in power in Punjab, has paid off the regulatory assets in the state through budgetary supports of thousands of crores of rupees, but did nothing in this regard in Delhi when it was ruling here.
    On August 6, the Supreme Court directed that the regulatory assets, including carrying costs to the tune of Rs 27,200.37 crore, be paid within three years to Delhi's three private discoms.
    Regulatory assets, essentially deferred revenue gaps to be recovered in future tariffs, have risen sharply, reaching Rs 12,993.53 crore for BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, Rs 8,419.14 crore for BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and Rs 5,787.70 crore for Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd as on March 31, 2024, totalling Rs 27,200.37 crore.
    The regulatory assets are recovered through a hike in power tariff through annual appraisals by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory assets.
    However, the electricity rates in Delhi remained the same during the 10 years of AAP rule, and the DERC has not announced a new power tariff since 2021.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)