State Electricity Regulator Commissions beset by vacant posts: Study

Of the 66 posts, 13 are vacant, says study done by Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education Research Society

The UDAY power distribution reform plan for states could falter at the regulatory level. Of the 66 posts in 22 state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs), 13 are vacant. Three major states –Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal — don’t even have a chairperson.

The West Bengal SERC is effectively defunct due to lack of quorum as it has only one member on its board. The Gujarat SERC was defunct from August to December 2015 as the quorum of board was incomplete. A SERC should have at least three members for it to function, according to the Electricity Act, 2003.

A study by Consumer Education Research Society based in Ahmedabad revealed key posts of members in SERC board are vacant. The post of member (technical) is vacant in three states - Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. The post of member (finance) is vacant in Assam, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The report also highlighted that the post of member (technical and finance) does not meet the stipulated criteria in most of the states as suggested in the Electricity Act. It said only Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand have chairpersons from judiciary. Ten chairpersons are from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and four from Indian Forest Services (IFS) cadre. The remaining three are postgraduates — two in science and one in English.

Section 84 of the Electricity Act, 2003 mentions, “The Chairperson and the Members of the State Commission shall be persons of ability, integrity and standing who have adequate knowledge of, and have shown capacity in, dealing with problems relating to engineering, finance, commerce, economics, law or management.” For the post of the chairperson, the Act recommends retired or sitting High Court judges.

However, as the provisions of the Act are only guiding principles and not mandatory, most of the states choose to bypass the same. In earlier representation to the power ministry, which is drafting amendments to the Electricity Act, the study suggested that the government replace the word “may” with “shall”, making it mandatory for state governments to appoint retired or sitting High Court judges.

Section 84 (2) of Electricity Act states, “Notwithstanding anything contained in Sub-section (1), the State Government may appoint any person as the chairperson from amongst persons who is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court.”