L-G okays spl audit of power companies over pension surcharge

New Delhi: Delhi L-G V K Saxena has approved a special audit of power companies to look into the pension surcharge levied on electricity tariff of consumers, an official statement from the Raj Niwas said on Tuesday. The special audit will help to track the actual pension surcharge collected by discoms from consumers in the national capital for financial years 2017-18 to 2023-24 and passed on to the pension fund, it said.

Discoms levy a pension surcharge of seven per cent on the monthly electricity bills of consumers in Delhi. Saxena gave the direction in larger public interests under section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, according to the statement.

The special audit of the discoms BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited will be conducted for the financial years 2017-18 to 2023-24 through CAG-empanelled external auditors, it said.

“The main objective of this special audit is to track funds collected as pension surcharge from consumers and ensure that they are being properly utilised for the funding of pensions and related benefits for the retired employees of the Delhi Vidyut Board,” the statement said.

A difference of more than Rs 1,100 crore was found in funds allocated by the DERC and that collected by discoms for the Pension Trust during the last seven years, the L-G office alleged in the statement. During the financial year 2022-23, an amount of Rs 1,520

crores was received by the Pension Trust from discoms in the form of pension surcharge against a demand of Rs 1,930 crores, it added.