E-Paper
Parallel power licence in GB Nagar: UPERC points out deficiency in Adani petition
The UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has refused to admit the Adani Group’s petition for a parallel power distribution licence for Gautam Buddha Nagar, in its present form, pointing out a major legal lacuna in the application
The UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has refused to admit the Adani Group’s petition for a parallel power distribution licence for Gautam Buddha Nagar, in its present form, pointing out a major legal lacuna in the application.
The Adani Electricity Jewar Ltd had applied for a licence for parallel power supply in Gautam Budhha Nagar district. Barring Greater Noida where the Noida Power Company Ltd (NPCL), a private utility, has been providing electricity for the last three decades, the rest of the supply area in the district comes under the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).
Now, the Adani Group also wants to create an electricity infrastructure in the entire district and distribute power parallel to existing companies there.
A senior UPERC official who did not wish to be identified said that the Adani Group’s petition did not meet the provisions as laid down in a circular issued by the Centre in November, 2022.
“As per the circular, a company cannot apply for a parallel licence for less than three districts unless the state government decides to exempt this condition by making the licence area size smaller,” he said adding “Since Adani has sought the parallel licence only for one district, we have told them that the commission cannot consider their application till the legal deficiency was removed.”
UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avdhesh Kumar Verma who had filed a petition in the UPERC, opposing the grant of parallel licence to any private company, welcomed the commission’s decision.
