Mismanagement by Centre: AAP after electricity becomes costlier in Delhi
NEW DELHI,JUNE 26 : Delhi Power Minister Atishi on Monday lashed out at the Centre for increasing the city’s power purchase adjustment cost (PPAC) by 8 per cent, which would lead to a price hike for consumers. The PPAC is a surcharge passed on to consumers and is mentioned in electricity bills.
The PPAC is a surcharge provided by the Electricity Regulatory Commission to help power distributing companies (discoms) meet the variation in the power purchase costs incurred by them.
Speaking to reporters, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the electricity tariff in Delhi was increasing only because of the “mismanagement of the central government” and the higher rates at which power-generating companies were being made to buy coal.
Pointing out that there was no coal shortage in the country, Atishi asked why coal prices were increasing and why electricity-generating companies were being forced to buy coal at higher rates.
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“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 companies are forced to buy coal at higher rates,” she said.
#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 producingâ€æ pic.twitter.com/Ml7dgEFjhB — ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2023
“The Centre has forced coal buyers to purchase at least 10 per cent imported coal, which costs 10 times more than Indian coal. Domestic coal is priced around Rs 200 per tonne while the imported variety costs Rs 25,000 a tonne,” Atishi said further.
The power minister also said that the recent hike will not impact consumers whose electricity consumption is 200 units or below. There will be an 8 per cent hike in the PPAC surcharge in power bills of those consumers who do not get subsidies, she said.
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“I just want to tell the consumers that only the Centre is responsible for this hike. It has forced the use of imported coal, which is 10 times costlier than domestic coal. This is despite no lack of coal mines or availability of coal in the country,” she added.
The Power Purchase Adjustment Cost, undergoes regular revisions every quarter, allowing for potential increases or decreases based on the current prices of fuel sources like coal and gas utilised in electricity production.
The Centre in November 2021 asked every state electricity regulatory commission to put in place a mechanism to automatically pass on fuel and power procurement cost to consumers to ensure the viability of the power sector. In the case of Delhi, it isn’t passed on automatically but the discoms levy a PPAC only after approval of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
-PTI
