GUWAHATI, June 43 � Noted consultant engineer JN Khataniar today alleged that the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) has been filing faulty tariff petitions before the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) which has been leading to imposition of unjustified tariff on power consumers of the State.
Addressing a press conference here, Khataniar also alleged that proper public hearings are also not arranged for on the tariff petitions and the objections filed by the consumers thereon.
Explaining the fuel purchase and procurement arrangement (FPPA) petition filed by the ASEB recently, on which the AERC held a public hearing on May 13 last, for hiking the tariff by 17.86 paise per unit, he argued that there was no fuel price adjustment formula in the petition of DISCOMS for determination of tariff for the financial years of 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Moreover, the formula for FPPA is so fixed by the Assam Power Development Corporation Ltd (APDCL) that even the cost of the generation of hydro power is also included in it, which is not permitted under the law, Khataniar added.
�The APDCL has misinterpreted the AERC regulations 2006. This alone makes the FPPA petition of the ASEB and its successor companies untenable. The petitions have also become unjustified because of the fact that the audited financial statements of the APDCL and the Assam Power Generation Company Ltd (APGCL) are not submitted with the petition,� he said.
The cost of the fuel for generating 584.792 million units of the power, which are sold outside the State are also taken into consideration while working out the fuel price for the ASEB and its successor companies� FPAA, he argued.
Besides, the huge loss of 2938 per cent incurred by the State�s power companies due to the inefficiency of the ASEB is sought to be passed on to the consumers of the State, he alleged.
