After a two-year wait,a new power tariff for Delhi is likely to be announced very soon. Sources at the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) said on Thursday that they hope to finalise the order and release it this week itself. Rumours of an imminent tariff hike have been in the news for long,and been a source of great concern to consumers in the city. In 2010,the DERC was all set to lower rates as the contention then was that Delhis private power distribution companies were making too much profit. That move,however,was quashed by the Delhi government,which directed the regulator to consider the petitions by the discoms who were actually claiming huge operational losses. Last month,the issue was hotly debated in a three-day public hearing where residents of Delhi turned up in force to demand a CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) audit of discoms account books,claiming that the numbers didnt add up and that consumers were being cheated. Sources at DERC said that the new tariff order will take into consideration all the arguments made at the public hearings by consumers as well as the power companies. The order is also likely to address the issue of fuel price adjustment,where the burden of fluctuations in fuel prices may be transferred to the consumer on a quarterly basis,and an open access policy where consumers may choose a preferred discom to supply them.
