Make Delhi power panel more accountable: AAP

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday demanded that the law setting up the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) should be amended to make the panel accountable to the people as it showed “extreme reluctance” to fix the accountability for power cuts in the city.

“The DERC’s kid gloves approach in dealing with the private power distribution companies (discoms), gives rise to reasonable apprehension that this regulator has failed to act impartially against them,” the AAP said in a statement.

“DERC is extremely reluctant to fix the accountability for power cuts and the central law governing its functioning should be amended to make it accountable to the people,” said the statement.

The party said the time has come for reviewing the provisions of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, under which the DERC was set up, given the “lack of transparency in the panel’s functioning”.

The summer months this year, particularly the month of June, witnessed worst power cuts in recent years, and the DERC and the Delhi administration watched like helpless spectators as the situation worsened with each passing day, the AAP statement said.