A move to block Arvind Kejriwal from cancelling power firms' licenses

New Delhi:  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked the region's power

regulator to revoke the licences of two electricity distributors if they fail to

supply power, drawing criticism from the companies.

The distributors are BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd,

run by billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. But today, a

tribunal said the firms' licenses cannot be revoked without its permission.

"Anil Ambani playing politics wid delhi's electricity? Whose politics is he

doing?," Mr Kejriwal tweeted last evening.

Reliance responded with a statement that said the group is "extremely

disappointed with the Delhi Chief Minister's tweet attacking our Group

Chairman."

The Reliance-backed companies have been warned by the Delhi government

that they must clear their bills with power providers and cannot threaten the

city with large blackouts on account of a cash crunch. Reliance Infrastructure

runs the distribution companies, with the Delhi government holding a 49%

stake.

In the event of the licenses being revoked, "suitable officers" would be

appointed to administer the distribution companies and keep power switched

on, the government has said.

State-run power producer NTPC has said that BSES Yamuna Power, which

sells electricity in the central and eastern parts, must pay its bills or be cut

off from February 11.

BSES Yamuna Power has already expressed its inability to pay state-run

power generation companies citing lower tariffs and a shortfall in revenues.

The row could result in outages of up to 10 hours a day, it had warned,

provoking Mr Kejriwal to allege "blackmail."

The distributors contend that the regulator has failed to increase power tariffs

in line with the rising cost of power, leading to a revenue loss of more than

Rs. 15000 crore.