KERC reserves judgment on tariff order - 2003
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Thursday reserved its judgement in connection with the fresh hearing of its tariff order - 2003.
During the hearing on the tariff, the counsel for Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) said that the matters related to revenue gap on account of shortfall in hydro generation in the year 2003, transmission and distribution losses, employees cost, payment of bonus and supply of free power to the employees, need to be addressed.
However, the Commission noted that all these issues have been resolved in subsequent orders and the appeal that had gone to the appellate Tribunal. There is nothing really which needs an attention, the Commission felt.
M G Prabhakar, chairman, Energy Commission, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI) said that the amendment to tariff order 2003 was done in December and all the points raised by power utilities had been taken care of.
Since it had reached the finality through the second order by the Commission,the March order of the Commission did not survive at all, he pointed out.
Even in the December order challenged before the HC, only one of the four issues were contested, that of the purchase of power from Tannir Bavi. Subsequently, this matter was challenged before the SC, after the HC remitted it back to the Commission’s consideration. The Commission disallowed the payment of four cents as fixed charges.
However the power utilities challenged this before the Appellate Tribunal, which confirmed the payment of the charges. The matter is now pending before the SC.
