VIJAYAWADA: AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) submitted a representation to Union Minister for Power Raj Kumar Singh on the draft Electricity (Amendments) Rules, 2022. The Chambers gave several suggestions on the draft rules.
AP Chambers opined that the provision in the Electricity (Amendment) Rules 2022 will remove public as well as private monopolies in the power distribution sector. The competition in the power distribution sector will certainly improve the quality of services and also leads to price competition which is undoubtedly advantageous to face global competition in terms of boosting exports. The Chambers said that the cost of the service is not followed by Discoms at present as per CERC guidelines, which had led to abnormal tariff hikes.
Reforms in the power sector are inevitable at this juncture to provide good service to the consumers. Amendment of the Act would resolve the problems to a greater extent. The draft rules seek to allow distribution licensees to modify electricity prices on a monthly basis to recover their additional spending on fuel and power purchase, which will lead to frequent changes in electricity tariffs as in the case of petrol and diesel prices.
Unfortunately, the above provision will lead to frequent changes in the tariff and the unforeseen price fluctuations will impact the cost of production. The Chambers suggested that the Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment charges should not be calculated.