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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Delhi: Delhi govt has ordered a CAG audit of the three private power discoms over the accumulation of Rs 38,500-crore regulatory assets that are to be recovered from consumers. If undertaken, it will be the first CAG audit of the discoms since the privatisation of electricity distribution in Delhi in 2002.Comptroller and Auditor General of India will undertake a “strict and intensive” audit of the circumstances under which BSES Rajdhani and Yamuna and Tata Power Delhi have continued to carry the regulatory assets without recovery, the power department stated in an order issued Wednesday.The audit may preferably be completed within three months from the date of its communication, subject to any extension that CAG may consider according to the scope and complexity of the task, it added.Regulatory assets represent the deferred expenses by the discoms due to the gap between the average cost of their supply and the revenue collected by them. In April, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity directed Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to begin the recovery of Rs 38,500 crore worth of pending dues from the discoms. These dues are usually recovered from consumers through a surcharge on electricity bills.The Delhi cabinet, in a meeting chaired by chief minister Rekha Gupta on June 29, recommended the audit in public interest. In 2015, then AAP govt couldn\u2019t carry out a similar audit following a high court order.Calling it “a historic moment for transparency, accountability and governance reforms in Delhi’s power sector\u201d, power minister Ashish Sood said, “More importantly, it is a victory for every electricity consumer and every honest taxpayer of Delhi.” For years after the privatisation of the power sector, many financial decisions, special arrangements and growing liabilities escaped proper public scrutiny, he added. \u201cThe people of Delhi have every right to know how regulatory assets worth nearly Rs 38,500 crore kept growing and who benefitted while this burden continued to hang over the citizens.”A BSES spokesperson, however, claimed that the matter of the CAG audit was sub judice. Delhi High Court<\/a> recently dismissed a BSES petition against the move, calling the submission premature at this stage.Discom sources said Delhi govt always had direct representation on the boards of these companies through senior functionaries, including the chief secretary, finance secretary and the power secretary. “The accounts of these discoms have been audited by CAG-empanelled auditors for close to 25 years,\u201d they said, adding that the discoms are also subject to the continuous oversight of DERC and other statutory authorities.No comment was available from Tata Power Delhi on the order.<\/div>\n