Delhi electricity bills may rise as ₹30,000 crore dues recovery looms

Electricity bills in Delhi are likely to increase in the coming months after a key legal development related to unpaid dues in the power sector.

The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) has rejected a plea by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) seeking more time to clear dues of nearly ₹30,000 crore owed to power distribution companies (discoms).

The dues are part of regulatory assets, which represent costs already incurred by discoms in supplying electricity but not yet recovered from consumers. Over the years, these liabilities have accumulated due to limited tariff revisions in the national capital.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed that such dues be cleared within a fixed timeline between 2024 and 2028, allowing regulators to revise tariffs if necessary to recover the amount.

With APTEL refusing to extend the repayment schedule, authorities will now have to proceed with recovery under the existing plan. This is expected to put upward pressure on electricity tariffs unless the Delhi government steps in with additional subsidies.

Delhi’s power distribution system is largely handled by private discoms such as BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited. Unlike states with government-run utilities, this limits the scope for absorbing costs without passing some burden onto consumers.

Officials have indicated that the recovery could be spread over several years, likely through a surcharge on electricity bills. However, the exact impact on consumers will depend on how much of the burden is offset through subsidies.

The development comes at a time when electricity tariffs in Delhi have remained largely stable for over a decade, even as costs continued to rise in the background.