“Over the years, disputes have burgeoned so much in the energy sector that you will find 500 to 600 orders on websites of every regulator. One of the reasons is that regulatory bodies are not empowered enough. In our book, we have tried to explore why so many power disputes arise, especially when the projects, which have been around for a long period amount to tens of thousands of crores,” said Sudha Mahalingam, author of Independent Energy Regulation in a Developing Economy.
The book, which was released on Wednesday, explores the differing perspectives of key statutes of the regulatory statutes through landmark disputes in India’s electricity and petroleum sectors.
The book includes case studies related to the Mundra projects, namely the ones promoted by the Adanis, the Tatas, and the Essar Group, and other disputes related to projects promoted by the Hindujas, L&T, GAIL, and others.
While discussing the sanctity of contracts and interpretation of contracts in a liberalised economy it also points out how the typical “jugaad” response to the issues in the power sector has led to a clash between the stakeholders.
Ms. Mahalingam, an energy economist and currently a professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), has authored the book with her son Kapilan Mahalingam who is a doctoral student of Economics.
