Electricity tribunal APTEL has dismissed a plea filed by city electricity distributors NDPL, BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna Power, which challenged an order from electricity regulator DERC directing them to pay Rs 118 crore to transmitting firm DTL.
The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity dismissed the plea of the discoms, opposing the DERC direction to adjust Rs 118.05 crore from their accounts for the loss suffered by Delhi Transco Ltd in financial year 2005-06.
"We confirmed the state commission order and held that the additional power purchase cost for the period 2005-06 and transmission charges are to be borne by the discoms," said an APTEL bench, headed by its chairman, Justice M K Vinayagam. APTEL said that DTL is an intermediary firm that purchases power from generating companies and sells it to discoms.
The entire power cost estimated in the adjustment exercise has to be charged to the distribution companies, it added.
Earlier, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) had directed the discoms to pay DTL after the transmitter claimed additional charges.
This was opposed by the discoms, which contended that DERC's direction to pay DTL contradicted the government's policy stating that till 2006-07, the charges would be determined in a way that enables them to earn at least 16 per cent returns on capital.
{{/usCountry}}This was opposed by the discoms, which contended that DERC's direction to pay DTL contradicted the government's policy stating that till 2006-07, the charges would be determined in a way that enables them to earn at least 16 per cent returns on capital.
{{/usCountry}}The discoms further contended that as per the policy of 'capacity to pay principle', any shortfall in the revenue of DTL was to be met through the government's support or suitable measures suggested by it.
In contrast, DTL submitted that neither the government's policy nor its 'capacity to pay' restricted the recovery of revenue shortfall from the discoms.
The policy dealt only with a specific amount of transitory support from the government, DTL said.
It stated that as per the policy, the government had provided Rs 3,450 crore to cover the loss between 2002-03 and 2006-07 and the amount was already utilised.
Affirming DTL's position, the tribunal said, "These policy directives are not open ended. Neither the policy direction nor the bulk supply tariff order provides for freezing of bulk supply order to restrict recovery of bulk supply tariff by the DTL from the discoms.'