PPAC Bijli hike in Delhi may lead to overburdening the already suffering people due to skyrocketing prices of essential commodities

As the peak summer season of Delhi has crossed 40% C. temperature with the people of Delhi in sweat most of time including already overloaded with skyrocketing inflation, the approximately 6.2 million power consumers will be confronting the next definite spike in power bills on monthly basis with regard to PPAC ( Power Purchase Agreement Charge) cleared by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission after the private companies approached them to do the said needful, in view of Coal, Gas n other means if power production having become tremendously costlier.

The said increase in the power tariff above the usual monthly bills will be in the range of 27 % to 30% in different areas as per the statement of a power department official says the news reports.

The AAP government in Delhi had given free electricity facility to electricity consumers upto 200 units on monthly basis in the national capital and they will now be overburdened with the new PPAC ( Power Purchase Agreement charges) in case they don’t increase their monthly consumption behind 200 units, but during summers due to excessive heat and temperature crossing 40% celcius the people of the lower strata of the society who usually avail this facility usually come out of this strata and will therefore be badly and adversely affected by this new hike of private power companies of Delhi.

According to latest news the people of East and Central Delhi will be paying the maximum PPAC ( spike charges) followed by South and West Delhi and then North aa well as North West Delhi.

The three discoms operating in Delhi are (1) BSES Yamuna Power Limited which supplies electricity to East and Central Delhi. Here the increase in power tarriff would be 9.42 percentage points. (2) BSES Rajdhani Power Limited supplying power to South and West Delhi. Here the increase in monthly Tarrif via PPAC would be 6.39% (3) Tata Power Distribution Limited which serves North and North East areas of Delhi who would be charging 1.49% extra, the lowest spike among others.

However, the Lutyens Zone controlled by the New Delhi Municipal Council where reside all the Union ministers, senior bureaucrats, IAS, IPS, member of Parliament , MLAs , union ministers etc would be charged only 2% hike. However, the bills of most of the categories who reside here are already under privileged concession already categories.

In practical terms as per an HT report it means that all commercial, domestic and industrial power consumers will have to pay 5.3% more, with East and Central Delhi to pay 7.7% and North and North West merely 1.2% .

The main reason for this increase are being shown as increase in the prices of coal, gas and high prices in power exchanges.

While the BJP is accusing the Delhi AAP government for this terrible hike, the Delhi minister Atishi has accused the central government led by BJP for making it mandatory for all power stations to buy imported coal which is costing Rs 25000 for every tone purchased and the domestic coal is just Rs 2000 for a ton. Just see the video difference said the minister.

She catagorically said while addressing the press that during the last 75 years there wasn’t any shortage of indigenous coal in India but it has dramatically come down now, resulting in the hike in PPAC said power minister Atishi.

She retweeted the AAP tweet which said : The central government has issued orders that the power plants will have to use ten percent imported coal. If the rate of domestic coal is Rs. 2000 per ton – the rate of the imported per ton coal is Rs 25000. The cost of power plants run by Gas has also increased because the central government has not controlled them. The centre’s responsibility is : The rates of power/ electricity are increasing because of the centre’s irresponsible policies. The present Gas and Coal management should be ceased. The bill of Delhi consumers will continue to come zero, whatever the 1 to 5% increase will take place – the Delhi government will best the losses tweeted AAP.

On the other hand the Delhi leaders of BJP Manoj Tiwari and Rambir Singh Biduri while strongly criticizing the AAP government in Delhi demanded immediate withdrawal of the PPAC in electricity bills blaming it for putting the additional financial burden on the Delhi populace.