Delhi's power regulator has allowed the city's electricity distribution companies to charge an additional fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge (FPPAS) of up to 8 per cent for the second straight month, a PTI report stated. The move will push up power bills further, officials said on Monday.

The Delhi Electricity Regulation Commission (DERC) had granted a similar relaxation in June for the month of April. The three discoms, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), approached the regulator again in June and July. They cited a rise in actual power purchase costs for May over the base power purchase cost.

Last month, the DERC had permitted the discoms to levy additional FPPAS for April at 7.94 per cent for BRPL, 7.43 per cent for BYPL and 6 per cent for TPDDL.

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Under DERC rules, discoms can recover a maximum of 10 per cent as FPPAS in a billing cycle. The regulator sets the FPPAS every month. The commission calculates the surcharge as a percentage of the total of the fixed charge and the energy charge on a consumer's bill.

An order issued by the DERC on July 10 said the FPPAS for May worked out to 25 per cent for BRPL, 19.91 per cent for BYPL and 12.21 per cent for TPDDL. All three figures exceed the 10 per cent cap.

To help the discoms recover costs beyond the cap, the DERC allowed them to charge the additional FPPAS over and above the capped 10 per cent. The order said this step removes the difficulty the discoms faced in recovering "at least the reasonable part of the increase" in power purchase costs.

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The additional FPPAS has been fixed at 7.94 per cent for BRPL, 7.43 per cent for BYPL and 2.21 per cent for TPDDL. With this, the total FPPAS that discoms can recover for May 2026 stands at 17.94 per cent for BRPL, 17.43 per cent for BYPL and 12.21 per cent for TPDDL, according to the DERC order.

The DERC said the relaxation will apply on a month-to-month basis until it issues a further order.

(Inputs from PTI)