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This may affect almost 7 lakh consumers who are currently eligible for power subsidy or who may be using subsidized bills The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to set a cap and give subsidy to only those falling under the permitted load category of 3KW.
The DERC submitted its recommendation in the first week of January to the power department to set a cap of 3KW for power subsidy and eligible consumers who come under the sanctioned load can opt for that and get subsidized electricity bills.
Officials explained that this would help the government save around Rs 300 crore and the government can use the savings in subsidy to finance the liability of pension trusts and a corresponding reduction in pension trust surcharge may be passed on to all consumers. electricity.
“The power department is currently facing difficulty in meeting the liability of pension trusts and has asked for suggestions on how this can be managed. Following their request, DERC submitted its recommendations to the government to set a cap on subsidy. Currently, consumers with an approved load of 3KW are getting subsidized bills in large numbers. There are fewer users who use more than 3 KW in terms of numbers and a number of them have opted out of the subsidy scheme. The DERC has sent its suggestions, now it is up to the government if they want to implement it or not,” said a government source.
However, if the government goes ahead with the DERC recommendations from the next financial year, according to government data, 13% of consumers eligible for power subsidy may be affected and will not get the subsidy, even if they apply for the voluntary subsidy. subsidy scheme.
Delhi has a total of 58.28 lakh eligible users. As per the approved load, 49.5 lakh consumers, which is 86%, fall under the 1-3 KW bracket, 2.94 lakh (5%) fall in the 4-5 KW bracket and about 4.6 lakh (8%) falls in over 5 -KW Category.
Further, around 48,14,319 consumers have opted for the subsidy. The Delhi government, in September 2022, made it mandatory for people to opt in for the subsidy in order to continue receiving benefits.
Meanwhile, in 2021-22, about 55 lakh people got the benefits and subsidized bills during the off-peak months when electricity consumption was low compared to the summer and winter peak .
The scheme will now end on March 31 and people will have to opt for the subsidy again in April.” DERC’s recommendation will soon be forwarded to the cabinet for approval,” said an official.
Power Minister Atishi, in a recent interview with The Indian Express, said, “They are getting several such policy proposals from the departments. But, at the moment, no change was planned in the current power subsidy model, where people choose it if they want it.”
People receive 100% subsidy for using less than 200 units and 50% subsidy of up to Rs 800 for using up to 400 units.
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