TNERC rejects developers’ plea against setting apart space for sub-station

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has disposed of a petition by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association (CREDAI) against the regulation enforcing developers of group housing and commercial complex to allocate space for the construction of sub-station where the total floor area of the buildings exceed 30,000 square metre or total power load exceeds 5 mega-volt ampere (MVA).

“The growth of the housing industry is synonymous with the consistent development of innumerable projects in every nook and corner of the metro cities, all requiring electricity in large magnitudes of MVA. It may not be practically possible for any licensee to find and secure the land in a suitable place, erect the feeding HT line and substation for every individual housing project, in the absence of supplementary support by the developers who are going to be the ultimate beneficiary,” TNERC said in the order.

It pointed out that while the developers part with the land cost, the licensee would have to bear manifold of such quantum in establishing the substations, supporting systems and connected lines and more so in maintaining them with lifelong overhead running expenditure. “Sharing the respective resources of stakeholders for a common cause of electricity, which is at large reckoned to be one of the most essential needs of modern life, not only address this perennial issue but also facilitate the timely release of service connections to applicants besides ensuring quality supply without voltage fluctuation and safety of the inmates of the dwelling units as contemplated by the amendment,” it added.

The CREDAI argued that the area of construction cannot be taken as a standalone parameter as it would not serve as a rational basis for a sub-station and the requirement for a sub-station ought to be based only on the expected incidence of the load.

It also demanded that the regulation should not be applied to ongoing projects where temporary connection applications were already made since the new requirement for the erection of sub-station cannot be accommodated in projects which are in an advanced stage or where planning permission has already been obtained.

Plea was against allocating space for construction of sub-station where total floor area exceeds 30,000 sq.m or power load exceeds 5 MVA