with thanks : Hindustan Times
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
There should be no Power Tariff Hike
We had attended the public hearings, called by DERC and submitted a detailed request for consideration. The various points submitted by us, in our letter, included :
TARIFF PLANS : Please refer the Annexure 9 on the bsesdelhi.com. On page number 10, paragraph 5 says that, "It is pertinent to note that while in the corresponding paragraph the Chairman has alleged that after the prudence check the actual trued up figures shows a revenue surplus of around Rs. 75 Crores as against a deficit of Rs. 606 Crores claimed by the DISCOMS, on the other hand at paragraph G (ix) at page 12 of the advice, the Chairman has stated that the DISCOMs had claimed a gap of Rs. 606 Crores which, after the prudence check was found to be a surplus of Rs. 25 Crores. This inconsistency in the figures provided in the advice further puts to question the veracity of the statement made in the advice and the conclusions arrived therefrom.”. It continues saying that, “ without prejudice to the above,assuming but not admitting that the said figures are correct, it is submitted that…………”
Therefore, we had requested the DERC to opt the CAG Audit, as only that Audit can lead us to a proper direction. Till than there should be no upward price revision.On this submission i was QUOTED by HINDUSTAN TIMES, as below :
My other points in the submission to DERC included :
The Technical & Commercial losses have progressively come down from 57%, ( which resulted in almost half of the energy being lost on the way ) before privatization to 14 % - 20% for various DISCOMS in 2010 – 11 ( though provisional & yet to be approved).
I also raised objections on the collection of Aditional Security Deposits as below :
Please refer the DELHI GAZETTE, Wednesday, April 18, 2007 . It contains DERC SUPPLY CODE AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS REGULATIONS, 2007. Under its heading SECURITY DEPOSITS i.e. CHAPTER 29, It says that all new consumers shall pay security at the following rates i.e. Domestic Rs. 600 per KW & Non – Domestic Rs. 1500 per KW.
My objections on this issue were :
The consumers who are having DISCOM meters for the last many years, should never be considered as the NEW CONSUMERS & therefore, if necessary should be charged at much lower rates, say @ 25% for any such load enhancement.
The purpose of Security deposit is to adjust any dues ( if the consumer cancels connection) and refund the balance. In the case of DISCOMS, it is simply the monopolistic atmosphere where consumers have no choice to opt any other service provider. And therefore, the money so collected is not a security deposit BUT a permanent Fixed deposit in the hands of DISCOMS.
In any case, these DISCOMS are raising the bills as per meters run by them for the actual energy used by a consumer. Means there is no direct loss to discoms from such load variance. Than why they want to collect crores n crores of rupees from the public of Delhi
We had sought clarifications on the issue of VARIABLE EXPENSES also. We expected from DERC as below :
We are sorry to say that these DISCOMS are no more a service providers but purely corporate houses with the sole aim of earning huge profits. We hope that DERC will look into the pains of the consumers through various RWA / TRADE representations, submitted, during the Public Hearingss & will opt the CAG audit & will stop the notices of additional security deposits.
The result / Outcome of these public hearings was quite SHOCKING as the DERC had raised the Power Tariff by 21.77%. Further to this SHOCK, the Tariff may go up every three months as the regulator - DERC - decided to review the electricity rates quarterly to adjust the power purchase cost of the distribution companies.
Now it's being heard that DERC may soon go for CAG Audit of the DISCOMs. But don,t know, if it will actually happen.
Now it's being heard that DERC may soon go for CAG Audit of the DISCOMs. But don,t know, if it will actually happen.
With best regards,
B S Vohra
President
( A federation of RWAs of Delhi East )
rwabhagidari@yahoo.in
www.RWABhagidari.com10 Reasons why there should be no Power Tariff Hike
Wish we had known of DERC's leanings towards Wholesale Price Index (WPI), a concept not recognised under Electricity Acts since 1910, we could have presented our objections and suggestions in terms they preferred. We foolishly based our arguments on Logical, Technical, Legal and Criminal grounds....... while all they understand is Inflation and WPI. Its time DERC should shift its Office to Azadpur Mandi or Kharibaoli ...... it will be simpler and cheaper to get WPI data, than to conduct farce Public Hearings.
1. We want CAG Audit:
Honest consumers want to strike a balance between Industry growth and Consumer's interest and have no problem paying Fair Value for the Power they consume. The Question is who and how Fair value is determined? DISCOMS present voluminous reports listing actual, dubious and intended expenditures, cleverly cooking up losses due to theft, under recoveries etc. that are difficult for DERC or common man to understand. The RWAs / NGOs presented their case in Public Hearings after studying accounts and replies filed by DISCOMS ....... former Chairman Mr. Brijender Singh agreed with the findings of the social groups and ordered a 25% decrease in Tariffs last year .... Delhi Govt. was quick to stall it. This year another Chairman came to a different conclusion citing Wholesale Price Index as the reason for a 22% increase ...... giving no weightage to the facts and figures showing Rs. 3577/- surpulous funds in the accounts submited by DISCOMS. DERC has admitted in Court that they have no way of Auditing the Voluminous Accounts submitted by DISCOMS, claiming only CAG can do that. Then how DERC can determine tariff is any body's guess.
2. Transmission & Distribution Loses (Theft & Dacoity):
When the DISCOMS took charge there was 65% average T&D loss reported and a promise was held out that power tariff shall start reducing after 5 years and promised to bring Power Tariffs down by curbing theft. Nine years on the average loss is down to 15% and and the consumers did not get any relief by way of proportionate reduced tariffs. Who has pocketed all the money generated due to 50% reduction in Theft. Why are there still some areas reporting 70% losses? Who is protecting them? We suspect, DISCOMS are not interested in curbing theft as it is their business necessity. Thefts come in handy to hide bulk side deals and to please Political Masters to cultivate vote banks. Honest consumers are being milked through Fast Running Meters and street lights are kept on during day time to feed side deals.
3. Dismal Performance Standards:
At the time of handover, the DISCOMS had promised qulitative uninterupted 24X7 Power Supply, within two years of operation. Nine years on the inverter / generator industry is thriving and the consumer is forced to invest in these space consuming implements that are unfriendly to the environment. Consumers spend on an average Rs. 1250/- a month to charge and maintain them. Expensive equipments like ACs, Computers, LCD TVs, Home Theaters go bust due to sudden spikes in voltage, if Stabilizers and UPS are not installed .... and they too consume Power. Only World Class City Delhi has this priveledge. Spikes in voltage also make the meters jump a unit or two.
4. Abolish Fixed Charge:
A monthly Fixed Charge on the basis of Sanctioned Load is being levied and recovered from all consumers irrespective of how much Power they consume. Earlier Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) used to levy Minimum Charges, having taken a one time Security Deposit and other charges on the basis of Sanctioned Load. After privatisation the Government and DERC very cleverly converted this Minimum Charge to Fixed Charge, resulting in windfall profits to the DISCOMS. Levying Fixed Charge on a monthly basis is nothing but charging the consumers twice under two different heads for the same thing month after month. In fact Fixed Charge has the highest percentage impact on lower consumption.
5. Why Reward Ineffeciency and Govt. Apathy:
Every consumer is today burning Power for basic services that the Govt. has to provide and charges for. Residents are forced to install power guzzling motors to draw water online and another motor to pump water to overhead tanks. This water has to be further purified by expensive machines which operate on power. During peak summer months, the impact is manifold, greater water consumption means longer hours of running motors, therefore DISCOMS, already hard pressed on peak load demand, have to buy additional/avoidable expensive power in open exchange. Like inverters it is estimated that motors alone use up 200 units of power per month per household. If DJB does its job effeciently, there will be no need to buy extra power saving money and resourses.
6. DISCOMS poor Business Decisions:
Why are DISCOMS still buying from outside, that too very expensive and of questionable quality. Not setting up power plants in time, was their business decision. And why did they not opt for alternate hydel technology in Himalayas instead of setting up Gas based plants near Delhi? They talk of Gas being environment friendly ...... what about the transportation of Gas adding to cost and pollution. They could have chosen Jharkhand where coal is in abandance and disposing of Fly Ash to fill excavated mines ...... but how else would they have got expensive land closer to Delhi for a pittance. And what stops them from getting into long term Power Purchase Agreements, their by offsetting the inflanationary trends.7. End Monopoly:
At the time of Privatisation dreams were sold to the people that by 2005, just as in case of Mobile phones, consumers will be able to choose their supplier. The benovolent Government and DERC did not see it proper to bring about competition and DISCOMS knowing the people have nowhere to go, used falsehoods like "NTPC will stop supply of power if demands are not met as they are unable to clear their dues". Competition would have kept them honest/transparent, just as in case of Mobile Companies bringing down the call rates from Rs. 32/- to 32 paise per min. Can the Capital city depend on a supplier who is so much in debt and lacks credit for even two days of Power Supply???
8. One City - One Power Tariff:
NDMC supplies power @ Rs. 1.80/- per unit then how come DISCOMS who were brought in to supply Cheaper, Uninterrupted, Clean Power is asking for Tariff increase and seeks to be Subsidised for a purely Business venture. NDMC gets cheap power and sells to Commercial establishments at huge profits. Power Purchased for domestic use by DISCOMS and NDMC should be at the same cost and in direct proportion to their requirement based on the Load they supply. NDMC should not be allowed to sell power in the open market, instead surrender it to DISCOMS for domestic consumers outside Lutyens Delhi.
9. White Paper on Inventry, Assets & Salaries:
It has been nine years since DISCOMS have been in operation and to date the value of Inventry ie Transformmers, Cables, Wires, Equipment etc. has not been established. Nor, has it been established as to how much office space is needed and all extra prime office space should be restored to the public. DISCOMS are reporting huge outflows in staff salaries that far exceeed industry standards, nor are they linked to Performance. No one knows the cost of distribution of 1MW in India.
10. Fast Running Meters:
Although tariffs have not been raised in the past 5 years, it has been noticed the residents are paying 25% to 40% higher bills. It has been noticed that even those who are using the same number of appliances are getting higher bills. Experts have informed us that this is due to im-balance in the Three Phase with Single Neutral system, wherein the 'Residual Back Flow' gets recorded in the meter reading. The earlier Mechanical Meters did not have the Neutral wire connected to the Meters Recording Mechanism, where as these Electronic Meters have the Neutral attached to the meters Recording Mechanism, which results in recording the Residual Back Flow, therefore INFLATED BILLS. Field Testing and Field surveyes by an Independent Institute of Repute and Civil Society members should be ordered as promised by DERC in the Public Hearing held on 4th Aug. 2011. An Audit should also be conducted transformer wise on Units supplied and billed for the past three years of Peak Load Periods in Winters and Summers.
Rajiv Kakria
Monday, September 12, 2011
RWA Links ! RWA Website links ! RWA Blog Links !
If you have a website / blog related to any RWA of Delhi / NCR or any where in India, please feel free to add our links on your websites / blogs. In exchange we will add your link on our web portal www.RWABhagidari.com
Our links to be added are :
www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.comOur links to be added are :
www.RWABhagidari.com
Please add our link & mail us immediately.
With best regards
B S Vohra
For the Attention of all the RWAs !
If you have any civic issues / major grievances which have not been resolved inspite of your best efforts, we hereby request you to plz forward us the complete details with pics or vids. We will do our best to raise the issues to the highest levels through direct contacts as well through the help of media. Our E Mail id is given in the header above. Please feel free to mail us with complete contact details with your cell number, name & mail ID.
With best regards
B S Vohra
President
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front
Worst living condition ?
I am sorry to read about " worst living condition ...DDA Flats....Ph-III "
The story and conditions are the same in Mayur Vihar Phase-1 Pocket 3,
Our RWA is Registered with DDA ( Regn.No.103) for the last 18-20 years now, also in Bhagidari Delhi East, My Delhi I care. Attention of all the Govt.Departments is invited here.
To day all our inner lane rain - water drains are OPEN Drains ? There are Poles with lights fitted in our Central Park BUT for the last 15-16 years residents have not seen lights in the park at night, Some time, in the year 2005-06 only a High Mast light, courtesy our than MLA Mr. Bhrampal , was installed in this park.
We have so many a departments in 'MCD Electrical' Park Lights but there is no one who might have said the Lights in the Park shall be attended. In connection with Street Lights - there are big trees which block lights at night, trees in the parks growing like jungle trees ? what to do ? Due to this darkness in the night count less thefts in flats,Cars stolen ,car music systems stolen some time back app 11 systems were stolen in ONE night, water meters, water pumps, any thing is stolen even in the day time too; as dark streets are safe heavens for the professionalization of the thieves of this area.
We, the residents, are not authorized to cut a branch even and BSES says it is Horticulture Dept. Horticulture says it is Forest Depts. responsibility to cut / trim the trees ? So, the point of cutting trees is just buried under various departments only without any result.
You have to live in such conditions... any way we are also in the same boat with you: do not feel disheartened that you are alone having worst conditions of living in DDA flats Phase-III !
Jeet Kumar
Pocket-3, Mayur Vihar-1.
Tariff Hike
Dear Mr. Vohra
I hv just read your mail and the version of Mr. Ghei re decisions @GKII Meeting.
Pl be informed that following resolutions were unanimously adopted
1. That We will not pay Discoms bills with 22% hike w.e.f.1-9-2011
2. That on 09-09-11 @ 10 a.m. a protest march from Savitri Cinema to BSES office will take place
in which all RWAs will participate. All other RWAs should do same in their areas in which all will participate.
in which all RWAs will participate. All other RWAs should do same in their areas in which all will participate.
3. That A/cs of Discoms be audited by CAG.
4. That during Puja days special Stalls would br put up and on Dussehra the effigy of 22% hike
will be consigned to flames.
5. That All M.L..As should be approached to say YES or NO on this tariff hike.
It may be possible that mr. Ghei may have escaped his attention to above.
SIR
All decisions will be for public welfare and there is no question of any confusion. You should forward this
message and whole Delhi should reject bogus and arbitrary tariff hike. If this is not taken seriously be ready
for next 60% balance hike.
rgds
Chetan Sharma Ashok Bagga
chairman Federation of President: GKII
GKII Complex RWAs Welfare Association
Delhi mayor meets RWC convenors
New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) Taking forward the first step towards formalisation of Resident Ward Committee scheme, Delhi mayor Rajni Abbi today addressed a meeting of the convenors of first 70 wards where RWCs have so far been formed.Abbi said that the RWC scheme has the potential to bring accountability and transparency in civic governance.She, however, said that every new idea finds resistance and there needs to be patience.The mayor said she was often petitioned by councillors on the matter. "However, we have to accommodate everyone's concerns to ensure that the scheme becomes a model for the future," Abbi said.The RWC scheme has been constituted by involving one representative from each RWA within a ward and will be chaired by the municipal councillor of the ward.
with thanks : link above.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Reply from Mr.Rajiv Kakria
Dear Mr. Vohra Sir,
At the outset I wish to thank you for posting my earlier write ups in your Blog to spread awareness about why we are against Power Tariff Hike. Sir, it is unfortunate that due to a communication gap some confusion has taken place.
I wish to state that I have been mailing all the communications within the group that was actively presenting their Objections / Suggestions collectively to DERC. You may be aware that as a group we had made presentations in DERC on four points ie. Logical, Technical, Legal and Criminal. We had, through our mailing list invited everyone to participate in the meeting. In this meeting at Defence Colony Club we had devised the strategy and chose who all will lead on the above topics with others supporting.
Mr. Hementha Sharma was to present the Technical, Mr. Anil Sood was to lead on Legal front and I was entrusted to present Logical and Criminal part. We as a group did present and built public and media pressure and were hopeful of again getting DERC to reduce Tariff. We were surprised to note that DERC instead chose to depend on WPI / Inflation to be the reason to increase Tariffs, ignoring all our well argued submissions ....... as if on a cue from Mrs. Dikshit's statement before the Public Hearings.
Sir, during the course of Public Hearings many individuals, NGOs and RWAs contacted us giving support and valuable inputs. Sir, in the past two weeks I have myself attended many RWA meetings and the general sense of the public is to fight this unjust hike at all levels.
The one common point on which we all agree on is that to fight this we have to drop our personal affiliations and support all efforts different groups take. Now to your query, I wish to state that in the meeting called at the behest of Mr. Chetan Sharma, Mr. Ashok Bagga and Mr. P.K. Roy on 7-9-2011 in GK-II the final resolution was on three points ......
1. A one line letter asking the Councillors, MLAs and MPs to state whether they 'Support Residents in their fight against Power Tariff Hike .......... YES or NO and get it signed.
2. Hold Protest Marches to local BSES / NDPL offices involving different RWAs to spread awareness in local residents.
3. Start a civil disobedience movement and tell people not to pay 22% increased tariff.
This was the resolution at GK-II where Mr. Ghei was present and was ratified in a meeting in East Delhi where many RWAs from East Delhi were present and we as the group that collectively appeared before DERC were invited. This resolution has been supported by other groups also and I request you and your Group to also support it.
Yesterday, I had circulated a mail informing that we can make partial payments without fear of disconnection. Sir, not every one adhered to the call Gandhiji made but because of those who did everyone got freedom ....... not everyone went to Ramlila Grounds but everyone will benefit from a corruption free India. Like in all calls, people unwilling to or due to medical, educational or other reasons are unable to adhere to the call can be exempted ....... civil disobedience movements have to keep that in mind.
We as representatives of people have to come together for the cause. No group has primacy and no individual is a leader, I can speak on behalf of the Group that collectively made a common DERC presentation and those present in GK-II and East Delhi meetings. In no way we claim to be the sole voice of Dehi. Please feel free to call us whereever you wish and we will be more than happy to make a presentation of what we had placed before DERC and various other fora.
In the meanwhile different groups are free to adopt what ever strategy to get the message across and which group to support. However, it will be unfortunate if we are unable to come together for a common cause that affects every Resident. Sir, I hope I have managed to clear the confusion. As for your following questions ........
Can the RWAs take such a decision ? I think it depends on the credibility of the RWA ...... people are a lot wiser and have a way of knowing whats right.
If a consumer accepts this decision & his electricity connection is disconnected by Discoms, than who will take the responsibility to re connect it ? Sir, again in a Civil Disobedience Movement people volunteer and are individually responsible ..... this is not to shirk responsibility but to inform that there may be pain to get a gain. All those who courted arrest with ANNA did it for a cause and did not wait for team Anna to bail them out ..... and thats how movements become successful.
Warm Regards,
Rajiv Kakria
no where it was decided or even discussed not to pay 22% additional charges
Our Mr K K Ghei has posted on the blog that, " On 7th of this month at 7pm in GK II ARYA SAMAJ MANDIR, i attended meeting organised for discussion of tariff issues. While i agree with all decisions taken, no where it was decided or even discussed not to pay 22% additional charges."
Whereas the Times of India Delhi Delhi Delhi
Can't understand that why such a confusion ?
Can the RWAs take such a decision ?
If a consumer accepts this decision & his electricity connection is disconnected by Discoms, than who will take the responsibility to re connect it ?
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