Tribunal rejects Metro petition against DERC

Appellate Tribunal for Electricity rejects DMRC petition which challenged the rejection of their application by Delhi’s power regulator DERC, reports HT Correspondent.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) petition, which challenged the rejection of their application by Delhi’s power regulator DERC, for the grant of licence for distribution of electricity was dismissed by Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).

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The energy tribunal observed that under the Electricity Act, 2003, Delhi Metro was not entitled for a distribution licence as it did not fulfill the condition according to the rules and regulations and was unable to comply with minimum area of supply. “We find that DMRC is not entitled to a distribution licence in the area of its operation. The appeal is therefore dismissed,” said an APTEL bench comprising Justice Manju Goel and A.A. Khan.

The tribunal also rejected DMRC’s plea that they being a company of the Central Government and national territory of Delhi was sufficient to fulfill the requirement of capital adequacy, credit worthiness as required by law.

“The idea was to fulfill the energy demands and distribute power in our area of operation to shops, food marts and other consumers. We had filed an application but it was rejected by APTEL,” said Anuj Dayal, Chief Public Relations Officer, DMRC. During the proceedings before the tribunal, other distribution companies of Delhi also vehemently opposed against Metro’s petition and filed objection before APTEL.