Delhi High Court to hear plea on electricity bill calculation

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will on July 17 hear a plea seeking tweaking in the regulations relating to the calculation of the electricity tariffs in the national capital.

The court will take up the plea filed by advocates Sanjana Gahlot and Hargyan Gahlot seeking amendment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Committee (Supply Code and Performance Standards) Regulation 2017.

The petitioners have approached the court pleading for an amendment to Regulation 17 (4) (i) and (iii).

The plea alleges that the State Advisory Committee and the DERC have failed to protect the interests of the consumers and citizens of the national capital.

The petitioners further submitted that the four months' average is taken for calculating load and not the average of all the 12 months of the year as a result of which the average calculated is higher than the actual average.

"In Delhi, electricity load/consumption varies considerably during the winter and summer months. Taking the average of Maximum Demand (MD) of only 4 months is arbitrary and gives undue advantage to the Discoms," the plea read.

The petition also challenged regulation provided for automatic load reduction for load up to 5KW only and not for all load values.

These regulations give undue gains to all the 4 discoms in Delhi and against the interest of the consumers, the plea contended.

Along with the application, the petitioners have also submitted an additional application stating that DERC is an independent body and should take independent decision to protect the interests of the consumers.

The DERC failed to apply its mind and acted on the directions of the Delhi government and not independently, the petitioners added.