APTEL orders recovery of ₹38,552 crore regulatory assets from Delhi discoms.
Delhi consumers likely to face phased electricity tariff increases over seven years.
Regulatory delay in clearing dues leads to rising cost burden on users.
Electricity bills in Delhi are expected to increase right after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) directed the city’s power regulator to initiate recovering nearly ₹38,552 crore in accumulated regulatory assets, a move that will likely push tariffs higher over the next seven years.
The order has once again brought attention to long-pending dues in the power sector, with consumers expected to bear the cost through phased bill increases.
1 April 2026
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
APTEL instructs the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to begin the liquidation process within three weeks, rejecting its request for additional time.
DERC had sought a delay to first conduct Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)-style audit of discom accounts before starting recovery. However, APTEL refused the extension.
Citing the tribunal, TOI reported, “DERC has been delaying the liquidation for one reason or the other thereby permitting increase in the amount… day by day, which will place additional burden on the end customers.” It also described the request for more time as “totally unreasonable and unacceptable.”
Power Bills to Surge
Officials said DERC is expected to introduce a regulatory asset surcharge on electricity bills, allowing recovery of dues over a seven-year period.
This means residents and businesses in Delhi could face steady increases in monthly electricity bills, as the accumulated costs are gradually passed on to consumers.
How Regulatory Assets Work
Regulatory asses come in the picture when power distribution companies fail to recover their full costs through tariffs. These include power purchase costs, transmission expenses and distribution losses.
In cases where governments avoid tariff hikes, the gap created is recorded as regulatory assets and recovered later, often with interest.
In Delhi, electricity tariffs have reportedly remained unchanged since 2014-15, while costs have continued to rise, leading to a significant buildup of unpaid dues.
Electricity Demand to Surge in Delhi
Delhi is expected to see a significant rise in electricity demand this summer, with peak levels likely to cross 9,000 MW, reported PTI citing State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) data. Delhi’s peak power demand in 2025 was 8,442 MW.
A BSES spokesperson said that peak power demand in BRPL discom areas of South and West Delhi, which clocked 3,798 MW demand last summer, is expected to reach around 3,997 MW this summer.
On the other hand, in the BYPL discom area of East and Central Delhi, the peak power demand, which peaked at 1,824 MW last summer, is expected to touch around 1,991 MW this year
