NEW DELHI: Electricity in Delhi is likely to become more expensive, as the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) on Monday ordered the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to issue an order within three weeks from April 20 to liquidate over Rs 38,500 crore in regulatory assets (RA) accumulated since 2007.Accordingly, the DERC may issue an order to recover the Rs 38,500 crore through a higher RA surcharge in power bills, enabling recovery from consumers in a phased manner over a period of seven years.The order from APTEL, a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals against orders of electricity regulatory commissions and adjudicates disputes in the power sector, came after DERC moved the tribunal seeking permission to have the accounts of power discoms audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to verify the legitimacy of the RA claims.DERC had sought three more months from April 1 to commence liquidation of the RA, but APTEL has allowed only three weeks.APTEL rejected DERC’s proposal to have the audit conducted by the CAG, stating that it was in contravention of the law, and directed that the audit be carried out by a chartered accountant (CA) firm. It also asked DERC to issue the RA liquidation order within three weeks from April 20, according to officials aware of the development.The detailed APTEL order is awaited.TOI had reported on March 23, that, after more than a decade, power tariffs in Delhi are likely to increase, as plans to recover the RA were on the anvil, according to DERC’s affidavit filed in January 2026 before APTEL.Regulatory assets are created when the costs incurred by power distribution companies (discoms)—such as for power purchase, transmission, and distribution—are not fully recovered through tariffs. This typically happens when governments avoid raising electricity prices for political or populist reasons. The resulting gap is recorded and approved by regulators and is recovered later through future tariff revisions.In Delhi, electricity tariffs have not been revised since 2014–15. During this period, the cost of supplying power continued to increase, while tariffs remained unchanged, leading to a substantial build-up of regulatory assets amounting to Rs 38,500 crore. This amount essentially represents deferred costs that will eventually be passed on to consumers through higher tariffs, along with applicable interest.In the past, discoms had moved the Supreme Court seeking directions for the liquidation of regulatory assets, following which the court, in October 2025, directed DERC to complete the process over seven years—from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2031.An official explained that the accumulation of these dues is largely due to the decision not to revise electricity tariffs for more than a decade. While this approach helped keep power bills low in the short term, it resulted in a significant build-up of unrecovered costs over time. The issue 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 further noted that recovery of regulatory assets had been deferred for years, leading to the addition of interest and a consequent increase in total liability. This changed after the Supreme Court’s judgment in August 2025, later modified in October 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 the public interest. It directed all states to clear regulatory assets within a defined timeline, setting March 31, 2031, as the deadline.According to an affidavit filed by DERC before APTEL on January 5, 2026, the total regulatory assets amount to Rs 38,552 crore. This 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.This is a developing story. Remarks from the Delhi government will be added when available.
