Delhi Power Minister alleges data fudging to show improvement of power situation in Capital

: The Delhi government on Tuesday summoned Reliance ADAG chairperson Anil Ambani over the “atrocious” performance of BSES in terms of electricity supply in the Capital.

In a scathing letter to Mr. Ambani who is based in Mumbai, Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain asked him to prepare “a concrete roadmap on how he plans to improve the city’s power situation” and come down to the city “early next week” for a meeting on the same.

Mr. Jain in his letter alleged that discoms BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) - which supply power to nearly 70 per cent of the city - had started “fudging” data to show improvement following stern warnings from the government. “If there are 10 outages, the daily report from your company shows only seven,” he wrote.

The Minister further expressed in the letter, written on Tuesday, as to how despite repeated warnings to senior officials of BSES, the power situation never improved. “Performances of BSES so far have been atrocious...The expectation was that you would bring down tariffs and install a world-class power system in the Capital. However, you have failed to do so,” read the letter.

Mr. Jain also said that the AAP government would not be a “mute spectator” to the company’s constant underperformance. “You might have had a cosy relationship with previous governments in Delhi at the expense of public interest. Kindly note that the new government is fully committed to protecting the interests of public. In order to do that, the government will not hesitate in taking strong decisions,” the letter further read.

The Minister also touched on alleged corruption within the company. “There are also allegations of corruption and financial irregularities including siphoning off funds by your companies. Some of the allegations have been corroborated in CAG’s draft report and in Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission orders.”

Meanwhile, the company said it was yet to receive the letter. The two BSES entities supply electricity to around 12 lakh and 16 lakh customers, respectively. The city’s power sector was privatised in 2002.