Quarterly fuel price escalations for Delhi Discoms-I: Does the law allow it?

Sept 1: Three Delhi discoms -- BSES Rajdhani Power, BSES Yamuna Power and North Delhi Power -- have filed a petition before the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) seeking a quarterly instead of an annual adjustment of fuel price escalations suffered by generation companies resulting in a concomitant increase in the cost of power purchased by them. This would mean that Delhi consumers will have to bear a price increase in their power bills not once a year, as is the case now, four times a year. The point in question here is whether this is allowed by law.
8Arguing against the petition, a few stakeholders have argued that no regulations for quarterly increases have been formulated by the DERC yet.
8What is more, such an increase is not in the provisions of the DERC Tariff Regulations, 2007.
8It is argued that CERC`s Multi-Year Tariff Regulations 2009-14 too have already made the regulations for computing of fuel prices and the heat rate of thermal generating units and the operating parameters are the ceiling norms and, at any cost, these norms should not be exceeded.
8Detractors have also quoted the Electricity Act, 2003 to claim that "no tariff or part of any tariff may ordinarily be amended, more frequently than once in any financial year".