The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) should regulate the cost of electricity sold by private producers to power utilities such as Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) by prescribing a price band, according to the Power Engineers Society of Tamil Nadu (POSET).
The regulators should fix a cap on the procurement price of power from private power producers.
Electricity supply being an essential service, the regulators should have powers to fix the price band, particularly during the period of shortage when private power producers invariably sold electricity at an exorbitant rate, S. Gandhi, POSET president, told reporters on Wednesday.
He wanted the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) to be flexible and allow Tamil Nadu to resort to overdraw from the Central grid as a short term measure to tide over power shortage.
He explained that one of the reasons for the high cost of power was that the southern region was not yet inter-connected with other regions whereas all other regions in the country were well connected.
As a result, even though power was available at Rs.3 per unit in eastern and western regions, the southern States were not able to source it. This pushed the cost to as high as Rs.15 a unit.