Smriti Kak Ramachandran DERC undecided whether to levy surcharge or not Consumers unsure of the benefits of open access NEW DELHI: Power consumers in the Capital are yet to warm up to the idea of choosing their electricity distributor, a practice known as "open access' that will become functional from July 1. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has not received a single application so far from any consumer wishing to opt for open access. Consumers who use more than 1MW of power can choose their electricity distributor from July 1, under the open access policy that has been provided for in the Electricity Act, 2003. "There is no consensus on whether a surcharge should be levied and if so what is the formula that should be used to arrive at a surcharge rate. The DERC is yet to take a final call on this critical issue. Since the consumers are unsure of the benefits of open access, they are yet to come forward,' said a senior Power Department official. Public Forum To garner feedback from stakeholders, the DERC organised a public hearing in the Capital on Friday. "We had received inputs from consumers, government representatives, stakeholders including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation among others. We will now analyse the feedback and the suggestions and then pass an order on how the surcharge will be levied, or if it should be levied at all,' said a DERC official. Acknowledging that the Commission is yet to receive applications from consumers wishing to opt for open access, the official said: "The DERC is working on the concerns of the consumers. The Commission will ensure that the practise is attractive to both the distribution companies as well as the consumers.' The DERC has already framed regulations for allowing consumers to choose their distributor. "There is some difference in opinion vis-:-vis surcharge, but we are confident of resolving it. Open access is an essential component of electricity reforms. It is a practise that needs to be encouraged. The Commission will ensure that it is non-discriminatory,' the DERC official said. Open access is being touted as a step that will encourage the power discoms to perform better as there will be incentives for better delivery. The DERC has proposed calculating a surcharge based on the marginal cost of power purchase which would be avoided with the open access consumers moving away from the system or by taking consideration of the average cost of the supply for such customers since the retail supply tariff takes into consideration the average cost of power procurement rather than marginal pricing. Passing the buck A major concern that has been brought to the notice of the DERC is that the discoms, in trying to make up for their losses, will put an additional financial burden on the smaller consumers. "There is a perception that whatever the discoms will lose from big consumers moving out of their network, they will pass it on to the other consumers. The Commission's mandate is to work out a formula where open access will work out to be a financially viable option for both the consumers, who will not want to pay more than their existing electricity charges, and for the discoms who can lose bigger consumers to competition,' said the official.