DERC free to fix new power tariff: Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Days after the Delhi High court slammed her government for stalling DERC's new power tariff, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said the regulator was free to fix the new rates for the city.

"DERC has to decide about the new power tariff," Dikshit said when asked about various discoms seeking a "substantial" hike in tariff.

In May last year, the city government had through a notification stalled DERC's decision to announce the annual tariff for 2010-11 till it re-examines the demands from discoms to increase the rates.

The DERC, which was making last minute preparations to announce the new tariff, after receiving the government directive had indicated that it had planned to cut down the tariff by 20 to 25 per cent as discoms would have a surplus of around Rs 4,000 crore if the existing tariff was not changed.

The government's notification was quashed by the court on Friday last describing the intervention "absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, untenable."

All the three private power distribution companies have been demanding a substantial hike in tariff citing increased power purchase cost.