UPERC to amend rules to penalise discoms
POWER REGULATOR HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED CHANGE IN RULES
LUCKNOW: The UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) on Wednesday set the ball rolling for the changes in the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) for Distribution and Transmission Regulations, 2019 by holding a public hearing on the proposed amendments that seek to penalise discoms for delayed filing of their annual tariff petitions.
UPERC chairman RP Singh, who presided over the event, said the commission had heard viewpoints of all stakeholders.
He also said it will make changes in the regulations soon by introducing penalties in the licencee’s ARR to promote timely filing of the MYT petition and to allow passing on of such benefits to consumers.
The proposed amendments also seek to penalise discoms for not filing a true-up petition within six months from the finalisation of the audited accounts of the corresponding year.
UPERC has set the ball rolling on proposed amendments.
The issue of the alleged nexus between builders and power engineers in Noida and Ghaziabad, however, dominated the proceedings during the public hearing.
Raising the issue, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avadhesh Kumar Verma said recent probes have established that many power engineers in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad (allegedly) intentionally provided financial benefits to builders while issuing power connections to the apartments.
“These are the hapless consumers who have to pay for corruption because any loss that discoms suffer on account of corruption is finally passed on to consumers in the shape of higher tariff,” he said.
He demanded the commission do away with the provision that allows return of equity (income) to the tune of Rs 2200 crore to discoms every year
Verma also demanded that no carrying cost be passed on to a discom if it did not finalise true-up petition within six months of auditing of the accounts.
He laid emphasis on the need for the CAG audit of discoms’ accounts to know their actual income and deficit.