Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 19: All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has demanded that a cap on profiteering by private power generators (IPPs) must be put in place by the regulators to stop exploiting shortage of electricity by raising the rate to the range of Rs 20 per unit, said VK Gupta spokesperson AIPEF.
AIPEF today wrote a letter to Union Power Minister RK Singh and has urged that under section 62 (a) of Electricity Act 2003 the appropriate Commission has been empowered to fix minimum and maximum limits or ceiling under shortage conditions. A meeting of the Forum of Regulators be held immediately to discuss the issue threadbare and to stop black marketing of electricity in future, it was necessary for state regulators as well as CERC to intervene and impose price caps to prevent excessive profiteering by IPPs and also to ensure that the unbearable burden is not put on consumers.
The profiteering by IPPs goes against the letter and spirit of Electricity Act 2003 section 61 (d) “Safeguarding of consumer interest and at the same time recovery of the cost of electricity in a reasonable manner” Shailendra Dubey Chairman AIPEF said that since coal shortage is recognized as a major factor causing a hike in power rates, the Power Ministry must stress for ending future coal shortages otherwise, the results of 2021 would repeat.
On the similar lines, it is necessary for regulators to protect consumer interest by imposing price caps.
AIPEF has also expressed its concern about the closure of ultra mega power plants of Tata and Adani at Mundra which are run by imported coal and have nothing to do with the present coal crisis in country and also heavy backing down of IPP’s in Rosa, Lalitpur, and Bara adding to the crisis.
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