VIJAYAWADA: Even as consumers, civil societies and political parties have been opposing the true-up charges recovery approved by the AP Regulatory Commission (APERC), the commission stated that protection of consumer interest and strengthening power utilities are its twin objectives.
It also said that 40 lakh out of the total 1.86 crore consumers will not be burdened because of the true-up recovery as the state government “will bear the burden” by providing subsidised power to farmers, artisans and other category consumers.
The commission said that it has been focusing on balancing the interests of both consumers and power distribution companies (Discoms) with a special focus on developing a consumer centric approach in power sector.
The commission explained it had permitted the Discoms to collect Rs 3,669 crore as true-up charges in respect of distribution period for the period between 2014-15 and 2018-19 keeping in view of the financial distress of the power companies. “The financial distress of the DISCOMs is not good for the state as well as to the consumers,” APERC said in a statement on Sunday.
“Out of the total true-up amount permitted to be collected from the consumers, the State government will bear the burden in respect of farmers, eligible SC, ST, MBC, artisans and other category consumers etc. Thus, out of total 1.86 crore consumers, 40 lakhs consumers would benefit with the subsidies being provided by the state government,” the statement added.
An official added that Discoms being in financial stress would not augur well for the state and consumers, and hence the recovery was being made so as to protect interest of all the stakeholders.
APERC chairman justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy said that the commission would keep consumers interest in mind while making every decision. “Protecting the consumers and strengthening the power utilities are the twin objectives of the Commission and the APERC is making every effort to be true to the regulatory role it has to play in performance of its statutory functions and duties. As India’s power sector is undergoing a noteworthy change, the Commission wants the power utilities to strive to lead the State in the rapid growth of power sector,” he said.
According to APERC officials, the commission has for the first time approved Rs 1,657 crore towards extending benefits directly to the different category of eligible consumers as promised by the state government. As part of efforts to improve the consumer service, the Commission has amended the Standards of Performance regulations to ensure that the Discoms pay automatic compensation to the complaining consumers for certain services failures, they observed.
“The commission also approved all the investment proposals submitted by the DISCOMs and APTRANSCO to strengthen the network, to ensure interruption free supply to the consumers.”
Advisory meet today
APERC has scheduled to hold the State Advisory Meeting with newly appointed members on Monday. The major points of discussion as per the agenda would be reduction of cost of service (CoS), streamlining the power purchases, improvement of performance of the DISCOMs, handling legacy issues of power purchase from existing solar and wind energy suppliers, etc.
