NEW DELHI: The CAG report indicting Delhi's three power distribution companies, BYPL, BRPL and Tata Power Delhi, for inefficiency, mismanagement and gross exaggeration of their regulatory assets comes as a major victory for the AAP government . The report effectively paves the way for reducing power tariffs without subsidies.

Reducing power tariffs was among AAP's important election promises in the 2013 and the 2014 Delhi elections. Arvind Kejriwal had visited the CAG office within days of becoming chief minister for the first time in 2014, to start the process for an audit. The discoms tried to stall the audit by claiming CAG had no jurisdiction over them and even moved Delhi high court against it. They repeatedly referred to CAG's communication from 2002 that said discoms were out of its ambit as they were not government entities. The court, while declining to stay the audit, said its report should not be published without its consent.

Besides vindicating its stand, the audit has given the AAP government another reason to smile: if the power regulator DERC is able to incorporate CAG's findings in next month's tariff announcement and lower rates, the government will be able to silence those who have criticized it for slashing tariffs with subsidies.

Since the report cannot be tabled without a high court order, it cannot become an official document and be incorporated in the tariff determination process. But sources said the report might be tabled in a few days and its findings used to revise power tariffs in Delhi.

