ATE order on power tariff hike: Odisha awaits SC order

Even as a recent order of the Appellate Tribunal on Electricity (ATE) has triggered panic on a possible steep hike in electricity tariff, the Odisha government said, it will await the order of the Supreme Court on the matter.

“I understand that the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has already filed a case in the Supreme Court against the ATE’s order. We will wait for the apex court’s order. Reliance Infrastructure controlled distribution companies had filed a case in the ATE since they were not satisfied with the tariff hike of the commission. Implementing the ATE order would mean a huge burden on the consumers and the government is concerned about the plight of the common people. But it is up to the OERC to decide on price fixation,” said Suresh C Mohapatra, principal secretary (energy), Odisha. In a recent judgement, the ATE has directed the state power regulator OERC to raise electricity tariff in the state after accepting the contentions of Reliance Infrastructure managed distribution companies (discoms) — North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha Ltd (Nesco), Western Electricity Supply Company of Odisha Ltd (Wesco) and Southern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha Ltd (Southco).

In the judgement, the tribunal has directed OERC to recognise the unsustainable distribution loss incurred by Reliance Infrastructure managed discoms and asked OERC to recover the same through tariff hike. The ATE has passed the order setting aside different tariff orders of OERC since 2006-07. Implementation of the tribunal’s order may lead to an unpalatable situation requiring consumers to pay through the nose for electricity consumption for the past years as per the revised tariff.

Should the ATE order be implemented, the tariff hike could be in the range of Rs 5-6 per unit, meaning a burden of around Rs 5,000 crore on the consumers. Unless the state government challenges the ATE order in a higher court of law, the consumers are destined to suffer. Being a quasi-judicial body, OERC has very limited scope to provide relief to the consumers under statute.