BHUBANESWAR: The Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meet scheduled to be held here on February 28 will take up a host of issues, including adoption of ‘postage stamp method’ for determination of a unified transmission tariff at regional level.
“Postage stamp methodology is a simplest form of transmission pricing where no distinction is made between the transactions with regard to the power flow path, supply or delivery points, or the time when it takes place,” official sources said.
The postage stamp transmission tariff is determined at a regional level as inter-regional flows attract not only the transmission tariffs but also the normative losses of all the intervening regions, sources added.
This is one of the many agendas set for the EZC meeting to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Chief Ministers of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand as well as senior officers from these states and the Central Government will participate in the meet.
With Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal being the major mineral bearing states, auction and operation of mines as per the MMDR (Amendment) Act, 2015 and revision of coal royalty are likely to dominate the proceedings.
A preparatory meeting for the ensuing EZC meet was held here under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy in Lok Seva Bhawan here where Principal Secretary of Home Sanjiv Chopra outlined the issues for discussion.
Since EZC meet is a prestigious inter-state event, the Chief Secretary said all the arrangements should be made in a meticulous manner.The last EZC meet was held at Kolkata in October 2018 followed by meeting of Standing Committee of EZC at Patna on October 23, 2019.