Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit met Union Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday and demanded to provide cheaper power from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and to provide grants-in-aid to settle arrears of erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB).
However, sources said that the Ministry has turned down Delhi Government's demand for cheaper power from NTPC, saying the Centre is already giving power from pit head stations of NTPC. "This is the second time that Delhi has raised this issue with the Ministry," said the sources. Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf, Principal Secretary (Power) Shakti Sinha was also present in the meeting.
Top sources told The Pioneer that the Delhi Government has requested the Ministry to provide cheaper power from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and grants-in-aid.
The Union Power Ministry has agreed to provide Rs 3,500 crore as loan to Delhi to settle arrears of erstwhile DVB but the Delhi Government now wants to convert this amount into grants-in-aid. The Centre is providing 3,657 Megawatt to Delhi at cheaper rates. Since 2012, Delhi has intermittently raised the demand for reinstating the allocation of cheaper power from pit head stations of NTPC in the northern and western region. Citing the high cost of power and the inability of the discoms to raise funds for power purchase, Dikshit had written a letter to Scindia and demanded cheaper power allocation in exchange for the expensive power that the companies are being given.
In the letter, the Delhi Government has also asked for extending the benefits of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development & Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) scheme to the three discoms. Although the scheme is limited to State-owned discoms only, both the Delhi Government and the regulatory commission have recommended that the scheme and its benefits should be passed on to the discoms, given their financial condition and the "peculiarity" of the power scenario in the city. "Delhi has asked for allocation of power from stations like Rihand and Singrauli that generate cheaper power. This is already being done for the New Delhi Municipal Council and if it is extended to the three discoms as well, then it will help in bringing down their expenditure on power," sources said.