Spinning mills body seeks transparency in TNERC posting

CHENNAI: The proposal to fill a member post in the high profile Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) that regulates Tamil Nadu Generation and distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has come under the scanner with the Tamil Nadu Spinning Mill Association (TNSMA) serving a notice to the chief secretary and the selection committee members seeking transparency in the appointment process.

A post of TNERC member become vacant after one member, Dr T Prabhakara Rao demitted office on December 24 last year. At present the TNERC is headed by its chairman who was a retired direction (generation) of Tangedco and a member (legal) who was a retired judge of district court.

The TNSMA which has 682 members said that their business is associated with power consumption and their demand as a stake holder should be considered. Counsel for TNSMA, M Farhathullah said that TNSMA has filed many cases seeking judicial intervention whenever the energy department has violated the rules.

Of the six appointments in the TNERC since 2015, five belong to either Tangedco or Tantransco and one is from government law department. “With the officials drafted from Tangedco/ Tantransco and even the chairman of the state commission is from Tangedco, by spirit, its functioning as an independent quasi-judicial body is being very much defeated,” it said.

TNSMA accused the government of inviting application only from the departments and thereby restricted interested public from applying without giving any advertisement or publicity for the appointment process. “If any person currently working with Tangedco is appointed as member TNERC it would go against the very spirit of nemo judex in causa sua (no one should be the judge in their own case). The spirit of TNERC to function as an independent quasi-judicial body,” said S Nagalswami, former TNERC member. If the state appoints the existing TNEB officers who had signed the power purchase agreements in the past, how will they act against their decision when there is an appeal filed before the Commission, Nagalswami wondered. The spinning mill owners have a reason to fight in this case as they often cry foul over the high rate power purchase by the state leading to increased electricity bills on the consumers, Nagalswami added.

“Those who violate the norms at Tangedco are appointed in TNERC after retirement. The purpose of TNERC to regulate and monitor the Tamil Nadu energy department which fails to serve its purpose and those who clear the controversial tender and power purchase files in Tangedco, get elevated to the regulatory commission defeating the purpose of transparency and monitoring,” said a TNSMA member.