NGO claims consumers over-billed by Rs 45,00 cr

Private distribution companies in the city have billed the consumers an additional Rs 4,500 crore in the last five years for electricity that was never actually supplied, a report by an NGO alleged today.

It said power tariff has been hiked in Delhi by a whopping 59 per cent in last two years which is the highest increase among all states while Gujarat was at the bottom of the list with only six per cent hike.

"The discoms have been incentivised by billing power worth Rs 4,500 crore in the last five years that was never supplied -- through Residual Back Flow," said Anil sood, President of NGO Chetna while releasing the report on the power sector in Delhi.

Explaining the residual back flow, he said the discoms have not installed a equipment called "bus bars" in 25 lakh electronic metres in the city due to which when power demand goes up, current flows into the "neutral lines" resulting in fast running of metres.

"We have obtained data of supply of power by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd trough 327 transformers which shows negative loss which means the discom charged the consumers more than the electricity supplied. This is a clinching evidence of overcharging," alleged Rajiv Kakria of GK-I RWA who has been petitioning regulator DERC to address the issue.

Various RWAs have been demanding installation of bus bars in electricity metres. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last year had also directed the discoms to look into the matter of fast running metres.

When contacted, a senior BSES official rejected the report saying it was not based on facts.

The report, which the NGO said has been compiled from data sourced from government, said the discoms have been buying power much more than the actual requirement, cost of which is being charged from the consumers.

... contd.

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