Bengaluru, Apr 15: Electricity consumers, especially industries, want the government to appoint a retired High Court judge as the chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).
Reason: They are disappointed over non-implementation of several orders of the Commission.
The committee formed by the government is yet to recommend a name for the chairman’s post. Several names of senior IAS officers are doing rounds for the post, which is vacant since M R Sreenivasa Murthy completed his term as chairman.
But consumers, irrespective of the category, do not want a bureaucrat at the helm of the commission. They have demanded that a judicial person should be the chairman.
The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) has sent a petition to the additional chief secretary of the Energy department, demanding that a retired High Court judge be appointed to the post.
It cites a Supreme Court order (PPN Power Gen Co Private Limited versus Tamil Nadu generation and distribution corporations), which directs the State government to appoint a retired High Court judge as the chairman of the commission.
The petition warns the government that if the order of the Supreme Court is violated, they may have to approach the court on the matter.
Transparency needed
“We need transparency in the determination of power tariff. We are frustrated over the frequent increase in tariff and industries are bearing the brunt,” said S Sampathraman, chairman of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).
The petition cites an extract from the order of the Supreme Court, which says that no selection committee is required to make the appointment to the commission.
“As per law, no selection committee is required. But the Chief Justice of Karnataka is required to be consulted for making the appointment,” the petition says.
Deepak G Gala, president of the Hyderabad Karnataka Environment Awareness and Protection Organisation, said that the government would not be able to exert influence if the chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission was from the judiciary.
Orders violated
There are several orders made by the commission in the past which have not been implemented.
Citing an instance, Gala said, the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (Gescom) alone needs to recover Rs 1,700 crore in the form of subsidy for irrigation pumpsets and water supplied to local bodies, which has not been implemented despiteKarnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission directions.
Citing Section 55 of the Electricity Act, which says that no power connection should be given without installing meters, Gala said that this should have been implemented by 2005.
“Even today, this has not been implemented, because the officials who become chairpersons of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission are influenced by the government. If a judge is made the chairman, he cannot be influenced,” Gala said.
A S Kulkarni, chairman,
Citizens’ Forum, Hubballi, echoes the need for a person from the judiciary as the chairman, as consumers will be benefited.
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