Stop outages or face license cancellation: Kejriwal government to discoms

New Delhi:  In a stern warning to the discoms, Delhi government today said it will not hesitate to consider "cancelling" their licenses if they fail to improve the power situation in the city which has been hit by a spate of outages of late. The message was conveyed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a meeting that was attended by representatives of the private distribution companies BSES, Tata Power (TPDDL) and also the chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). Power Minister Satyendra Jain said the policy on getting consumers compensated for unscheduled black outs will be implemented within a week and that DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission) will issue a notification in this regard. "The CM has given them (discoms) a week's time to take corrective measures while making it clear that strict action will be taken otherwise. We will not hesitate to consider cancelling their licenses. "There's no shortage of power in the city but the outages are due to local faults. The compensation formula will be implemented within a week. DERC will notify this within a week. Discoms will decide how to implement it," Jain told reporters. A senior government official said the discoms could not offer a "single explanation" behind the outages despite there being no shortage of power in the national capital. "The government has categorically asked them to set their house in order as people of Delhi will not suffer for the efficiency on their part," the official said. Delhi's power demand hit an all-time peak of 6,188 MW on May 20, which is expected to rise by the month of July. Today's peak load was relatively low at 4,834 MW, as the weather has slightly cooled down due to yesterday's rain.