BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), which has been functioning without a Chairman for the last eight months, has initiated steps for filling up of six posts including two of director and one of secretary.
The quasi-judicial body is functioning without a Chairman for around eight months after the retirement of UN Behera on January 16. It has no full time secretary, director (tariff), director (engineering), joint director (tariff) and joint director (economics).
All the posts are vital in view of complexities involved in tariff determination and adjudication of matters relating to the power sector. At present, director (regulatory affairs) Priyabrat Patnaik is in additional charge of secretary, director (tariff) and director (engineering). Patnaik is holding the additional charge of secretary, an important position in the commission, since March 2018. The commission had invited applications for the post of secretary on March 3, 2022. However, it was cancelled for reasons best known to the panel. The panel issued a fresh advertisement on August 10 inviting applications for the post of secretary, and the last date being September 26, 2022.
The commission is at present managed by 11 officials against the sanctioned strength of 19. The three posts of advisers to the commission, one to each member, have also not been filled up for a long time. Interestingly, OERC being a quasi-judicial body had re-designated the post of director (law) to director (regulatory affairs) to accommodate an officer with engineering background. A senior law officer is highly essential for the commission which has several officers with electrical engineering degree, informed sources said. The post of joint director (law) was abolished after the re-organisation.
The post of director (administration) too has been abolished and its responsibilities re-distributed between secretary and director (regulatory affairs). Moreover, recruitment to some important posts are being carried out in the absence of a full-time Chairman. As per OERC recruitment, “There shall be Selection Board for selection of candidates for appointment to the posts mentioned consisting of Chairman, two members of the commission and one subject specialist to be nominated by the commission.”