2 min readNew DelhiApr 21, 2026 05:04 AM IST
Electricity in Delhi is likely to become costlier, with the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) on Monday directing the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to begin the recovery Rs 38,500 crore worth of pending dues from power distribution companies within three weeks by engaging an independent chartered accountant (CA).
The APTEL rejected DERC’s request to defer the process until July 2, calling the delay “unreasonable and unacceptable”. Maintaining that there was no legal hurdle in starting the recovery, it warned that any further postponement would increase the burden on consumers.
The pending dues, also known as regulatory assets, have accumulated over the years, as power tariffs were not revised despite rise in fuel costs and repairs undertaken, among others, said officials. These dues are usually recovered from consumers through a surcharge on electricity bills.
“The Delhi government will take a final decision on how to settle the pending dues, either by increasing power tariffs or by any other means,” said an official.
Power Minister Ashish Sood, however, maintained that the government “will not let this impact the public”.
Blaming the previous AAP government for the dues, he said, “The huge amount of regulatory assets have been collected due to the corruption of the previous AAP government and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Our government will not let this impact the public. We are exploring legal routes and will get CAG to audit the discoms on why such huge pending dues have been collected.”
According to DERC’s submission to APTEL in January, the total outstanding regulatory assets stand at Rs 38,552 crore. Of this, Rs 19,174 crore pertains to BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, Rs 12,333 crore to BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Rs 7,046 crore to Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited.
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Meanwhile, APTEL turned down DERC’s proposal to have the CAG audit the discoms. It said that while the Supreme Court had on August 6, 2025, ordered a “strict and intensive audit” of discoms, it had not said that the exercise be carried out by the CAG. It asked DERC to appoint an independent CA within a week and complete the audit.
