Justice R. Subhash Reddy of the A.P. High Court made it clear that fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA) for the first quarter of the financial year 2010-11 could not be collected from consumers.
The judge was dealing with a batch of writ petitions contending the final orders of the A.P. Electricity Regulatory Commission permitting the power distribution companies to collect FSA from consumers for years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The judge said the issue raised by the petitioner regarding the time limit had to be adjudicated in detail. He said the FSA charges for the first quarter of 2010-11 should not be demanded from the petitioners if they have not paid them. If the consumers have paid the amount, it would be subject to the final orders of the writ petition. The issue of validity of FSA for other periods from 2010-12 would be decided in the final hearing. Meanwhile, the Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh clarified that the APERC would determine the power tariff on the condition that the FSA would be added during the course of time.
