Facing allegations of selling a surplus 1,000 mw to group companies at below-market rates to supress profits, BSES discoms have urged the Delhi government to take over management of unused power so that the controversy can come to an end.
Despite the Delhi High court quashing the regulatory order that said discoms could make profit of Rs 3,577 crore a year by selling surplus power alone, consumer groups continue to cite the order to bolster their case that discoms are manipulating electricity trading deals. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission had arrived at the profit figure by assuming electricity price of Rs 5.75 a unit in 2007.
On the other hand, discoms maintain that power is surplus only during non-peak hours when prevailing market rates are low. So, prices are usually lower than rates at which power is purchased from central generating stations under long-term power purchase agreements ( PPAs).
In a letter to Delhi power secretary Puneet Goel, discoms have said they sell surplus electricity through transparent mechanisms like power exchanges, trading and banking arrangements and unscheduled interchange (UI), where all transactions are accounted by the state load despatch centre in compliance with the guidelines laid down by the regulator. Anyway, the discoms have further said that they cannot be held responsible for terms of the PPAs that were signed by the erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board prior to its privatisation in 2002, and assigned to them in 2007.
“In the interest of transparency and to avoid baseless allegations and unnecessary controversy, the BSES discoms request the Delhi government to take over the entire responsibility for ensuring adequate power to meet the peak demand and sell off-peak power in the most optimal manner,” said the letter sent by Gopal K Saxena, CEO, BSES Rajdhani Power. BSES Rajdhani Power and BSES Yamuna Power together cater to two-thirds of electricity consumers in the national capital.
