Electricity Act to cover N-energy? SC to examine

NEW DELHI: Will the Electricity Act, which regulates generation and distribution of power produced using hydel, thermal and solar energy sources, apply to electricity generated by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) governed under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962?

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and R Mahadevan agreed to examine this question and attempt a harmonised interpretation of the two laws governing the generation and distribution of electricity from conventional sources and the nuclear fission process.

The conflicting views of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in a dispute between Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) and NPCIL led to the Nigam approaching the SC for adjudication of the question as to who had jurisdiction over regulating power generated by NPCIL.