Power dues waiver plan to go on till Feb 6

The scheme for the NCR that began on Dec 7, 2005, was to end this Friday

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has given a one-month extension to the late payment surcharge waiver scheme (LPSC) for the NCR.

"The scheme is now extended to February 6," the secretary, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, Somit Dasgupta, told Business Standard.

The waiver scheme had started on December 7, 2005 and was supposed to end this Friday. The LPSC allows a 100 percent waiver of the late payment surcharge on the payment of full principal amount of outstanding electricity dues.

North Delhi Power Ltd (NDPL), BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and Delhi Power Company Ltd had filed the petition with the DERC to extend the scheme for another month.

BSES has collected Rs 65 crore during the waiver month. NDPL collections for the period are around Rs 60 crore.

The total outstanding dues to be paid by consumers were estimated at Rs 5,873 crore. This includes the dues for the pre- and post-privatisation period. Out of this, Rs 2,230 crore is the surcharge amount.

The principal amount (without surcharge) payable to BSES discoms is Rs 2,470 crore, compared with Rs 1,173 crore (without surcharge) payable to NDPL.

"We are expecting more people to come and clear their dues as this is the last opportunity they will be getting," an NDPL spokesperson said.