The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) has directed State power regulator to decide on Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s plea to be categorised under special tariff category status as expeditiously as possible.
In its petition before Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) had sought for railway traction tariff at a concessional rate by excluding the subsidy and cross subsidy charges for the period of trial operation from July 2013 to June 2015 as well as for the operational period.
The energy cost contributes to about one-third of operation and maintenance cost. The power supply requirement for the project was in the order of 30 million units in 2015 and is expected to be 200 million units in 2026, it had said.
From July 2013, the tariff fixed under HT (III) category by the Tangecdo was at the rate of ₹7/unit with a fixed demand charges of ₹300/KVA/month and subsequently revised and billed at ₹8 per unit and demand Charges at ₹350/kVA for the traction and utilities, the CMRL said.
It had pointed that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) were being charged lower tariff under a seperate category.
The TNERC had rejected the plea and had said the special category request would be considered in future tariff orders based on study from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (Tangedco). Against which, the CMRL moved Aptel.
Aptel noted that in spite of direction to Tangedco for a proposal, no steps have been taken till date towards that end either by the State utility or by the State regulator.
The decisions which concern the public at large, particularly the consumer whose interest is at the core of the legislative scheme of the Electricity Act, cannot be put off indefinitely. The call has to be taken expeditiously by the Commission on which the legislation places the responsibility, the Aptel said.
The parties are directed to appear before the State Commission on April 6, 2020. “We request the State Commission to decide the matter as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months of the first date of hearing set by us,” Aptel said.
