PPAC component of power bill reduced relief for consumers in Delhi Officials

    New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) The Power Purchase Adjustment Charges (PPAC) have been sharply reduced in Delhi which will provide a relief to the city's consumers who can expect lower electricity bills now, officials said on Friday.
    Discom officials said the earlier (September) PPAC of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) was 37.88 percent, BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) 37.75 percent and BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) 35.83 percent.
    The revised PPAC (December) is 20.52 percent for TPDDL, 13.63 percent for BYPL and 18.19 percent for BRPL, they said.
    "This will lead to a significant cut in the monthly electricity bills of the consumers," an official stated.
     The BJP tried to take credit for the decision, with its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva saying it was a victory of party workers as the BJP has been protesting against discoms and the AAP government for "looting" honest consumers in the name of PPAC.
    He said the charges have been reduced due to the BJP's protests and an intervention of LG V K Saxena.
    Citing Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) orders, Sachdeva told a press conference here the "PPAC imposed by the three discoms has been reduced by more than 50 percent, and resultantly the consumer bills will be reduced by 20-25 percent".
    The PPAC is added to the electricity bill to compensate for any increase in the cost of power during procurement due to factors like rise in fuel prices, changes in policies among others.
    It is calculated as a per cent of the sum of the fixed charge and energy charge (units consumed) in power bills.
    The PPAC is levied under the Electricity Act, Rules and APTEL orders. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) allows central gencos like NTPC, NHPC and transcos to make full recovery of their costs on a monthly basis
    On the other hand, Delhi discoms are allowed PPAC on a post-facto quarterly basis with the approval of the DERC.
    The PPAC is recovered to ensure timely pass through of the adjustment cost charges to the consumer as any delay further burdens the consumer with interest cost, officials said.
    Also, without PPAC, discoms will have liquidity stress and won't have money to pay the generation companies, they added.
    This charge revision is a huge relief for power consumers of Delhi as the PPAC has been significantly reduced by the DERC, said East Delhi Resident Welfare Association Front president BS Vohra.
    The charges kept increasing continuously in the last few years burdening the middle class , he said, expecting further reduction.
     In case of BRPL and BYPL the existing PPAC was applicable till 20th December 2024.
    In the current PPAC approved by an Order, dated 20.12.2024 passed in case of BRPL and BYPL, the DERC has allowed only the recovery of costs for Q2 of FY 24-25.
     In case of TPDDL, the existing PPAC is applicable upto 31st January 2025. Its petition is pending before the DERC which may announce a fresh PPAC in coming weeks.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)