Anil Ambani meets Delhi Lt Governor

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Wednesday met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and is understood to have discussed the Comptroller and Auditor General audit of two power distribution companies of Reliance Infra ordered by previous AAP government and other issues related to electricity supply.

Sources said recommendation by the Aam Aadmi Party regime to Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission to revoke licenses of BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd if they fail to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply figured in the meeting.

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They said the issue of CAG audit of the discoms was also discussed in the meeting.

However, officials at the LG Secretariat described Ambani's hour-long meeting with Jung as a ‘courtesy call’.

Last month, then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had ordered a CAG scrutiny of private power distribution companies.

The BSES discoms had expressed their unhappiness over the decision.

Kejriwal had even accused BSES discoms of trying to ‘blackmail’ the government by threatening power cuts upto 10 hours a day, and warned them of strict action including possible cancellation of licenses.

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The BSES discoms had warned the government last month of 8-10 hours power cuts a day, citing fund crunch.

The BSES Yamuna Power Ltd and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, which supply power in 70 per cent areas in Delhi, owe around Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) to Delhi Government-run power generation and transmission companies.

Both BRPL and BYPL have been maintaining that they are going through difficult financial condition.

They have been demanding significant hike in tariff, citing rise in power purchase cost.