Sparks fly at TNERC public hearing over debt, power deals

CHENNAI: There were heated exchanges during the public hearing by the

Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission

(TNERC) on Tuesday on the tariff petition filed by state-run Tangedco and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (

Tantransco

).

Representatives of consumer groups, private firms and individual consumers raised questions on Tangedco’s loans, tariffs, low voltage and other issues.

The hearing is a requirement according to the Electricity Act, 2003, on the power utility’s petition to determine the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) from fiscal 2016-17 to fiscal 2018-19, retail tariff for fiscal 2017-18, transmission charges and so on.

A statement from Tangedco said the petition “proposes no tariff increase and an adjustment in the subsidy without affecting consumers for the FY2017-18”.

Questioning Tangedco’s solar power agreements, former TNERC member S Nagalswamy alleged that the utility would suffer losses, especially with regard to its agreement with Adani Group at Rs 7.01 a unit, when the rates have now come down.

Thuya Murthy of the Association of Anti-Corruption wanted to know from officials how they planned to reduce the utility’s debt, and alleged that there were irregularities in the tender process. V Ravichandran of Citizens Guardians alleged that many consumers didn’t get the average household supply of 230 volts, and also criticised the complaint redressal mechanism.

Tangedco’s S

Arulsamy

, officer on special duty, said the tariff petition was “only to reduce the subsidy element by Rs 2,500 crore. We have asked them [TNERC] to reconstruct tariff only in LT (Low Tension) and domestic tariff, and this is to join UDAY scheme”.

The loan of Rs 38,000 crore was for generation, Rs 36,000 crore for distribution and the Rs 6,000 crore interest-free loan was from the state government, Arulsamy said. The Centre’s UDAY scheme ensures takeover of distribution loans only, he added.

Annual accounts for the 2016-17 financial year would be available in September, he said. “We have presented this balance sheet to the Assembly and it is approved. If there are any mistakes, we take responsibility for it,” said Arulsamy, who retired recently as Tangedco director (finance).

He added that Tangedco had not revised tariffs for several years, was setting up new projects, and incurring capital costs on upgrading infrastructure. The utility would look into complaints of low voltage, he said.

On power purchase deals, Arulsamy said they “strictly follow merit order” and that the tender process is “transparent”. Tangedco officials said they had asked solar power companies to lower tariffs.