Delhi polls: AAP seeks CAG audit of discoms
Yadav said that the PM's offer of allowing Delhiites to choose their service provider as a means of decreasing tariff would be welcome but was an oversimplified formulation.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday released a white paper on the power situation in the city. The party also asked Congress and BJP to clarify their stands on the issues raised by it.
Senior party member Yogendra Yadav said that the Prime Minister's offer of allowing Delhiites to choose their service provider as a means of decreasing tariff would be welcome but was an oversimplified formulation. "Discoms have become private monopolies and introducing competition would be a welcome move. However, drawing a parallel between power and telecom is misleading. While competition in electricity distribution will help in containing tariffs, it cannot be panacea for the ills plaguing this sector as there are serious issues at various levels. If things continue the way they are, power tariff in Delhi will be around two and-a-half times in five years from now," he said.
AAP said the three discoms were claiming Rs 11,432 crore from the government. Another approximately Rs 1,500 crore is in the process of being approved by the DERC. Discoms will recover their dues by doubling or tripling the power tariff, AAP said.
The party has also pressed for an unconditional CAG audit of discoms. "Power producers with captive coalmines are not passing the benefit of free coal to end consumers. Power generators who were dependent on imported coal have been inflating the cost of coal imports, thus not only siphoning the money abroad but also securing a higher power tariff. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has pegged the overvaluation of coal imports at Rs 29,000 crore between 2011 and 2014," said party sources.
The party said that the rate at which companies are selling electricity to Delhi discoms varies from Rs 1.2 per unit to Rs 12.21 per unit. "Why does Delhi not have access to cheaper power? This problem can be addressed by Delhi government by setting up power generation plants either by itself or in collaboration with other players," said Yadav.
Senior party member Yogendra Yadav said that the Prime Minister's offer of allowing Delhiites to choose their service provider as a means of decreasing tariff would be welcome but was an oversimplified formulation. "Discoms have become private monopolies and introducing competition would be a welcome move. However, drawing a parallel between power and telecom is misleading. While competition in electricity distribution will help in containing tariffs, it cannot be panacea for the ills plaguing this sector as there are serious issues at various levels. If things continue the way they are, power tariff in Delhi will be around two and-a-half times in five years from now," he said.
AAP said the three discoms were claiming Rs 11,432 crore from the government. Another approximately Rs 1,500 crore is in the process of being approved by the DERC. Discoms will recover their dues by doubling or tripling the power tariff, AAP said.
The party has also pressed for an unconditional CAG audit of discoms. "Power producers with captive coalmines are not passing the benefit of free coal to end consumers. Power generators who were dependent on imported coal have been inflating the cost of coal imports, thus not only siphoning the money abroad but also securing a higher power tariff. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has pegged the overvaluation of coal imports at Rs 29,000 crore between 2011 and 2014," said party sources.
The party said that the rate at which companies are selling electricity to Delhi discoms varies from Rs 1.2 per unit to Rs 12.21 per unit. "Why does Delhi not have access to cheaper power? This problem can be addressed by Delhi government by setting up power generation plants either by itself or in collaboration with other players," said Yadav.
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