Petition against Tata Power Company over supply tussle

A management consultant and resident of Dahisar has filed a public interest litigation in the high court seeking that Tata Power Company (TPC) be directed to continue supplying 500 mega watt (MW) to RInfra at a price determined by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission.

A management consultant and resident of Dahisar has filed a public interest litigation in the high court seeking that Tata Power Company (TPC) be directed to continue supplying 500 mega watt (MW) to RInfra at a price determined by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission.

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“I filed the PIL on behalf of lakhs of Mumbai consumers. I have prayed that the government be directed to take appropriate actions to ensure consumers are not made a victim of this corporate war,” Shrikant Soman told Hindustan Times.

Tata Power Company had filed a petition in the high court on Monday challenging the decision of the state government asking it to supply 360 MW of electricity to RInfra till June end. It wants to supply 160 MW of the power supplied to RInfra to its [TPC’s] consumers.

TPC’s petition will be heard on Wednesday. According to Soman’s petition, if TPC refuses to supply power to RInfra, the latter’s consumers would have to face power cuts.

RInfra may have to procure electrical energy at market rate from BEST or TPC or other suppliers. The burden of increased cost will be passed on to the consumers, states the petition.

It adds that to avoid power cuts or payment of higher tariffs to RInfra, the consumers will be forced to look to TPC, which is also entitled to supply energy to consumers in RInfra’s area (suburban Mumbai).

The petition says TPC does not have an extensive distribution network in the suburban areas and would not be able to distribute energy in RInfra’s area without developing their own distribution network at a considerable costs. Or TPC would have to pay wheeling charges (rental) to others whose network/ infrastructure it would use to distribute power.

“It appears that consumers will end up paying higher tariffs for supply of energy by the second Respondents (RInfra),” states the PIL. Soman’s advocate Anupam Dighe is likely to mention the PIL for hearing on Wednesday.