Pioneer in short

Delhi electricity bills may spike

Residents in Delhi may soon face higher electricity bills, with tariffs expected to rise from April 2026 as the Delhi Government moves to clear outstanding dues exceeding INR 38,000 crore owed to the city’s three power distribution companies (discoms). The Government is, however, planning to subsidise the hike in power tariff to cushion the impact on the consumers. “This is a regulatory business. The government is committed to ensuring that no burden falls on the people of Delhi,” Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood assured on the first day of the Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly on Monday. “The previous Government has left a debt of more than INR 38,000 crore of regulatory assets with the discoms through DERC. To recover this, the companies are authorised to increase the electricity rates. During the tenure of the previous Government, on the orders of the high court, DERC was ordered to bring tariff orders,” he said. Regulatory assets — costs that are expected to be recovered in future — have risen sharply due to a lack of any power tariff hike in the past decade under the Aam Aadmi Party rule.