Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today people in the national capital won't have to pay for electricity if their monthly power usage is within 200 units.
Kejriwal said at a conference that households consuming between 201 and 401 units of electricity will get 50 percent subsidy from the government. The decision—which comes a year ahead of the assembly elections—is effective from Thursday.
“People used to pay Rs 622 for 200 units of electricity till yesterday, now it's free,” the Delhi chief minister said. “For 250 units they used to pay Rs 800, now they'll pay Rs 252. For 300 units, they used to pay Rs 971, now they'll pay Rs 526. For 400 units, they used to pay Rs 1,320, now they'll pay Rs 1,075.”
The Delhi government would reimburse the balance amount to electricity distribution companies, Padmini Singla, secretary of power in Delhi government, told BloombergQuint over the phone. “We were already giving subsidy of Rs 2 per unit for electricity consumption between 0 and 200 units. Now, we have made electricity usage of up to 200 units completely free,” she said. “For electricity bills of 200 units to 400 units, the subsidy amount is up to Rs 800. Government has its own kitty, we'll pay to the discoms through it.”
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission had announced new electricity tariff for 2019-20 yesterday, in which it reduced fixed charges and raised energy charges
A spokesperson for Tata Power Company Ltd., which supplies electricity to Delhi and the national capital region, refused comment, saying it's a regulatory decision.
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