VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has reserved its order on the review of the true-up for distribution business for the third control period (2014-15 to 2018-19). The commission, which gave time for the general public to file written submissions till Wednesday, is likely to issue an order in a few weeks.
The commission’s oral hearing was concluded on November 1. The objectors sought time till Wednesday to submit written responses to the replies given by the power distribution companies (Discoms) to the views/objections raised by the stakeholders in the public hearing. Unlike the public hearing held for the original petitions that saw only a handful responses, the commission received objections in large numbers with political parties, civic organisations, industry bodies and experts opposing the imposition of true-up charges. The commission, which had suo motu recalled its earlier order permitting Discoms to recover Rs 3,669 crore from August, will now consider all the objections, before giving the final order.
It may be recalled that the true-up order of the commission in August created a furore with most sections of consumers and industry bodies, in addition to political parties, demanding that the decision be rolled back. Later, a petition was filed in the High Court claiming that the commission did not follow the due procedure for holding the public hearings. Following this, the commission voluntarily recalled its earlier order and decided to conduct the entire process afresh.