Sheila's dim logic: High power bill due to 24-hour supply

New Delhi, March 29: In a bid to short circuit Arvind Kejriwal's 'civil disobedience' on

bills, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit came up with a bizarre logic. She justified the increase in electricity tariff and said bills have gone up due to 24-hour electricity supply.

"People will try to instigate you saying that these bills are inflated. But I would say you one cannot compare bills for 24 hour power supply to that of 8 hours supply," Dikshit said today. The chief minister should know that power bill is prepared on the consumption and is not based on the duration of supply. There could be marginal increase in usage if there is supply but it will not result in steep increase in consumption and bill amount.

However, Dikshit wants to explain away the high tariff. Clearly targeting the youth, who are going to first time voters (almost 18 lakh) in Delhi's November elections, she said "there are a lot of youths here who don't even know that there used to be eight to 9-hour-long power outages in Delhi. We had decided to fix the problem and we have succeeded in it by ensuring 24 hour power availability to people of Delhi."

Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal is on an indefinite fast for last seven days protesting "inflated" power and water bills.

He has been asking people not to pay the bills.

Referring to Kejriwal's appeal, the Delhi chief minister said consumers have not heeded to the appeal.

"Nobody today can say that we don't get electricity. There may be short duration outages due to local faults but overall there is 24-hour power availability in the capital. You can feel that and it has been acknowledged," Dikshit said.

How the tariff went up?

The power tariff in Delhi was hiked by 22 per cent in 2011 followed by five per cent hike in February last year. The tariff went up by two per cent in May last year and again by 26 per cent for domestic consumers in July last year.

Another three per cent hike was effected last month. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission is again considering a hike in tariff.

In fact, Dikshit's logic has been at dumb's end since the power issue came to boil. Last month she had said people should cut power consumption on various electrical appliances if they cannot afford high electricity tariff. This had evoked sharp public reaction.

OneIndia News