New Delhi: Electricity in Delhi is likely to get more expensive for consumers as the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) on Monday ordered the city’s power regulator, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), to commence within three weeks the process of liquidation of Rs 38,552 crore regulatory assets (RA) accumulated since 2007.Accordingly, DERC may issue an order imposing higher RA surcharge in power bills so that the amount can be recovered from consumers in a phased manner over a period of seven years — a move that will lead to higher power bills.The tribunal’s order came after DERC moved it seeking permission to initiate the process of getting Delhi’s power distribution companies (discoms) audited by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). DERC had also sought an extension of three months for commencing the liquidation of the assets to first get the audit done and check the sanctity of the RA claims by the discoms.In its April 20 order, the tribunal stated that DERC “has been delaying the liquidation for one reason or the other thereby permitting increase in the amount… day by day, which will place additional burden on the end consumers….”The order added, “In view of the same, we find DERC’s request for extension of time till July 1, 2026, for commencing the liquidation totally unreasonable and unacceptable. We direct it to commence the process according to Supreme Court’s judgment within three weeks from today positively.”An official said the next option for DERC is to approach the apex court.In the past, discoms had moved SC seeking directions for liquidating the assets, following which the court passed an order in Oct 2025 directing DERC to liquidate them in seven years — from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2031.On March 23, 2026, TOI had reported that after more than a decade, power tariffs in Delhi are likely to increase as the plan to recover the assets was on the anvil, according to DERC’s affidavit filed before APTEL in Jan 2026.Regulatory assets are created when the costs incurred by discoms — for power purchase, transmission and distribution — are not fully recovered through tariffs. This typically happens when govts avoid raising electricity prices for political or populist reasons. The resulting gap is recorded and approved by regulators, to be recovered later through future tariff revisions.In Delhi, electricity tariffs have not been revised since 2014-15. Over this period, the cost of supplying power continued to increase, but tariffs remained unchanged, leading to a substantial build-up of regulatory assets to the tune of Rs 38,500 crore. This amount essentially represents deferred costs that will be eventually passed on to consumers through higher tariffs, along with applicable interest.While this approach helped keep power bills low in the short term, it resulted in a significant build-up of unrecovered costs over time, an official said. The situation came under scrutiny following a Supreme Court order in August 2025, which mandated the recovery of pending dues in the power sector across states.The official said that the recovery of the regulatory assets had been deferred for years, leading to the addition of interest and a consequent increase in total liability. This changed after the SC’s judgment in Aug 2025, later modified in Oct 2025, to allow recovery over a seven-year period. The court emphasised that such dues cannot be postponed indefinitely, as doing so is not in public interest. It directed all states to clear the assets within a defined timeline, setting March 31, 2031, as the deadline.According to an affidavit filed by DERC before APTEL on Jan 5, 2026, the total RA includes Rs 19,174 crore for BRPL, Rs 12,333 crore for BYPL and Rs 7,046 crore for TPDDL. These figures represent approved costs and reflect the actual expenditure incurred in supplying electricity.The tribunal quashed Delhi LG’s March 5, 2026, approval of the proposed CAG audit of the accounts of the discoms, and observed that while SC had directed regulatory commissions to undertake a “strict and intensive audit” of the discoms, it did not specify that such audit must be carried out by CAG.APTEL directed DERC to appoint any chartered accountant within one week with specific direction to conclude the strict and intensive audit in line with SC directions within three months thereafter.No response was available from Delhi govt. It was yet to go through the APTEL order, a Delhi govt official said. No response from DERC was available till late Monday.
