Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday called on Union Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and sought financial assistance for consumers in case of any possible hike in power tariff. Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) is likely to hike power tariff in the city within next few days.
Sources said Dikshit told Scindia that his Ministry must extend help to the city government so that it can offer some kind of relief to the people in case the tariff is hiked. DERC has indicated increasing the tariff to help the private power distribution companies which have been seeking a hike in electricity rates citing fund crunch.
DERC in February 2013 had shot off a letter to the Chief Minister seeking bailout package for the private power distribution companies. In the letter to Dikshit, DERC chairman P Sudhakar had said the regulator will be forced to hike tariff if the government fail to provide financial assistance to the discoms.
DERC had hiked the tariff by 22 per cent in August 2011 and by 26 per cent in June 2012 for domestic consumers. Sources said the Delhi government was considering broad-basing the existing subsidy in case DERC hikes the tariff.
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