BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of hearing of Tata Power’s applications for approval of annual business and capital expenditure plans for the four distribution companies for 2021-22, the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has been requested to direct the petitioners to file the applications under OERC (Terms and Conditions for Determination of Wheeling Tariff and Retail Supply Tariff) Regulations, 2014.
Consumer activist Ananda Kumar Mohapatra has raised objections to the applications stating in the current form they do not conform to the prescribed regulations of OERC. He stated that the OERC regulations have no provision for filing annual business plan as it has to be long-term for five-year period. Further, approval of an annual business plan is of no use at this point of time when the Commission has already determined bulk and retail supply, and transmission tariff for the current fiscal, he argued.
He said Regulation-4 speaks about multi-year tariff framework, filing of business plan and trajectory specific parameters for the purpose of approval of aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) and the expected revenue from tariff and charges of the licensees (discoms). Regulation-5 deals in details about the business plan and the procedures of its filing.
“The Capital Investment Plan (CIP) shall be prepared in accordance with the sales/demand forecast, power procurement plan, distribution loss trajectory, targets for quality supply etc. The CIP shall be consistent with the perspective plan developed by the State Transmission Utility (STU) based on the data submitted by the distribution licensees. The investment plan should also include yearly phasing of capital expenditure along with the financing plan and corresponding capitalisation schedule,” said the regulation.
Despite all the regulations in the matter of business plan, the licensees with some ulterior motives have tried to mislead the stakeholders. This cannot be taken for hearing unless and until the above discrepancies and irregularities are rectified by the licensees. He urged the Commission to issue necessary directions to the petitioners for correction of the petitions and spell out the source from which they have taken the annual business plan.
Mohapatra also opposed the June 10 public notice issued by OERC which while inviting objections/suggestions to the petitions of Tata Power, mentioned about the filing of business plans by licensees - TPCODL, TPWODL, TPSODL and TPNODL - for the current fiscal. He urged the Commission to issue a corrigendum to its notice. The Commission has fixed June 29 as the date of hearing.
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