Amid reports that electricity prices in the national capital have gone up since May 1 as power companies have hiked electricity tariffs, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Wednesday accused the AAP government of secretly increasing electricity tariffs in the city through the Power Purchase Adjustment Cost (PPAC) Act.

“They are increasing the rates surreptitiously. They are not changing the units, but under the PPAC Act, the charges have increased to 8.5 per cent, hence, doubling it for the consumers,” Sachdeva said.

Power department sources said the increase is meant to recover costs incurred by distribution companies when purchasing electricity from power generation firms.

“The tariff remains the same. The change reflected in electricity bills is from fixed charges and energy charges levied on the consumers,” an official said.

The BJP, however, alleged that the government is shifting these higher costs to consumers via electricity bills.