The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has imposed a hefty penalty of Rs 1.60 crore on private power discom BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) for indulging in “persistent overdrawal of power from the grid” in violation of the rules.
The action was part of an interim order by the electricity regulator after it took suo-moto cognizance of the .
“unprecedented load shedding” in June 2009, especially in the areas served by BRPL.
According to the Commission, the three Distribution Licensees — BRPL, BYPL and NDPL — were responsible for the total load shedding of 32.655 MUs, out of which BRPL alone had done load shedding to the tune of 24 MUs.
“The Commission found that BRPL mainly depended on overdrawal of power from the grid in violation of the provision of Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) and Delhi Grid Code (DGC),” Director (Tariff) Anil Kumar Singh told reporters here.
Besides imposing Rs 1.68 crore on BRPL, the Commission has also levied Rs 1 lakh penalty on then BSES CEO Arun Kanchan in his personal capacity after finding him guilty of non-compliance of the provisions. The penalties should be remitted before Nov. 15.
“The CEO did not take steps for arranging adequate power like purchasing from the power exchange, which had led to the unprecedented load shedding,” Mr. Singh said.
The Commission, in its interim order, has directed BRPL to maintain uninterrupted power supply in future and inform the consumers in advance about the anticipated disruption in supply due to reasons beyond their control.
“A penalty up to Rs 5 lakh for every two lakh KWH units unserved can be imposed by the Commission if the electricity could not be served due to any reason,” Singh said, adding that this implies to all discoms.
Earlier, the Commission issued a notice on Aug. 6, to show cause why actions like suspension of distribution license be taken against them for “failure to maintain grid discipline and indulging in persistent overdrawal from the grid.”
“A committee of experts has been constituted to probe the actual quantum of load shedding, which still remains unverified, and based on the report (which is supposed to be submitted inside a month), action will be taken in this regard,” the DERC official said.
The electricity regulator also decided to install a terminal of the SCADA system in the premises of the Commission to monitor the functioning of the discoms.
“The discoms have been directed to strength distribution network and arrange long-term power purchase agreements to minimise load shedding,” Mr. Singh said.
