Electricity regulator gives relief to Delhi industrial, commercial consumers

NEW DELHI: In a relief to Delhi’s industrial and commercial consumers who have been hit hard by coronavirus pandemic, the electricity regulator has directed distribution companies or discoms to reduce their fixed charges by half for unutilized capacity for April and May.

The current tariff mechanism has two parts — a fixed charge, which is the investment incurred towards power generation equipment, and a variable cost or the cost of fuel.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) in its order on Monday said, “The Commission observed that during lockdown period till 30/05/2020, majority of Non-Domestic (Commercial etc.) and Industrial Consumers did not use their system to the contracted capacity. However, the Fixed Charges at the applicable rate have been billed to them based on the Billing Demand, as per DERC (Supply Code and Performance Standards) Regulations, 2017.”