BSES twisted facts to make case for tariff hike:DERC

In an affidavit submitted before the appellate tri-bunal for electricity. Delhi's power regulator has accused Reliance-backed discoms, BSES Yamunaand Rajdhani, of "misrepresentating facts" for making a case to raise tariff.

The affidavit was filed on tuesday by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission after its tariff order had been challenged by BSES in the appel-late tribunal . The hearing is close in a day.

DERC's affidavit said the discoms' pettition should be rejected as documents submitted by them to legitimize a deal with sister firm Reliance Energy Ltd were "not genuine".

The tribunal's judgement on the affidavit is crucial for consumers. If the affidavit is accepted in the hearing, the tribunal would have also accepted DERC's decision to disallow a Rs. 950 Crore transaction by BSES to purchase capital goods for REL, effectively squashing the discom's a major point of contention against the DERC tariff order. If that happens, officials said, the tribunal will not allow a major tariff hike even if BSES's other points of contentions are accepted.

BSES said the matter would be decided in court, a BSES official said, " We have right fully asked to be compensated for some genuine expenses and we will fight it out in court. The matter is up for hearing."

A source said DERC had disallowed the capital expenditure as it felt the transaction amounted to ripping off Delhi consumers. "BSES's petiotion against DERC's disallowance of this expenditure is the biggest point in their anti-DERC pettion which could have led to a tariff hike amounting to
Rs 2 / Unit,"
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com