Directorate of Information & Publicity
Government of NCT of Delhi

Directorate of Information & Publicity
Government of NCT of Delhi
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New Delhi 25/02/2016

• 50% electricity tariff reduction for consumers using upto 400 units per month extended to NDMC domestic consumers, for the financial year 2015-16.

The Delhi cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday evening, chaired by the Chief Minister Mr Arvind Kejriwal, approved the Power Department’s proposal to extend the electricity subsidy scheme to the domestic consumers residing in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area.

It has been decided that the existing scheme of providing 50% reduction in the electricity bills of domestic consumers using upto 400 units per month will also be applicable to the consumers residing in the NDMC areas.

An additional fund of Rs 15 crore will be provided by the government to the Power Department for this purpose.

This is for the first time that electricity subsidy scheme has been extended to the NDMC area.
This scheme will not be applicable to consumers using more than 400 units of electricity per month.

BACKGROUND :

The Delhi government, had on 25/02/2015 decided to provide a 50 % subsidy to the domestic electricity consumers of the national capital, who consume upto 400 units per month.

This decision was made applicable to domestic consumers residing in NDMC areas also.

However, the Power Department was informed by the Delhi Vidyut Board Employees Terminal Benefit Fund Pension Trust that a sum of Rs 27 crore was recoverable from the NDMC in the form of prorata contribution to the DVB Pension Trust against the provision made in the tariff order passed by the DERC for financial years 2012-13 and 2014-15.

Since the Pension Trust is facing a huge challenge in releasing statutory payments for pensionary benefits to more than 21,300 pensioners (as on date), the realization of over due amount from the NDMC is of paramount importance.

The NDMC did not honour the statutory directions made in the tariff orders by the NDMC for the financial years mentioned above. It in no case can retain and utilize the amount recovered by it from consumers other than for funding the trust.

It is therefore imperative that the entire amount of subsidy to be released to the NDMC should be credited to the account of Pension Trust against the overdue amount of Rs 27 crore.
Secretary NDMC stated that an amount of over Rs 15 crore will be required to implement the electricity subsidy scheme. (ENDS)

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