Rajasthan
Discoms imposing surcharge on consumersto settle Adani Power dues violating law: NGO | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: After Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (RUVNL) filed a petition last month before the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) seeking refund of over Rs 4,648 crore excess paid to Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd (APRL), there is a demand now to withdraw seven paisa a unit imposed on power consumers in the state.
Samta Power, an energy sector non-profit organisation in the city, said that since the discoms were seeking a refund from APRL, how can they burden the people with the surcharge. Earlier, discoms collected 5 paise/unit as fuel surcharge from all consumers for 36 months between 2019 and 2021. Now, the consumers are paying 7 paise/unit which they will have to pay till 2027 (60 months). This will be used by discoms to service the bank loans taken to pay APRL.
The case relates to the 1,320MW Kawai Power plant in Baran for which APRL had signed a power purchase agreement with discoms to sell 1,200 MW at Rs 3.23 a unit in 2010.
But later, APRL said the company had to import costly coal from Indonesia as domestic coal was not available due to a policy change and claimed compensatory tariff above the PPA rates for the 2013-2018 period. DD Agarwal, director of Samta Power, said the fuel surcharge should be collected in the same year and, if delayed, it would lapse as per the Electricity Act.
Though the discoms challenged APRL’s compensatory tariff and interest on the due amount, they lost the case in the Supreme Court and paid Rs 5,996 crore APRL, including an interest of Rs 2,947 crore.
‘Discoms can’t impose fuel surcharge’
“First, the discoms cannot impose fuel surcharge as it would lapse if not collected in the same financial year. Secondly, since they are still pursuing the case, it can’t be termed as a liability yet, Agarwal said.
He also said that in such a long-delayed case, the interest penalty should be waived. “The interest cost is close to Rs 3,000 crore. This is due to the delays in the tribunal and the Supreme Court. Why should the common man be punished for this,” he asked. Consumers who took connections after March 2018 are also paying the liability of the previous years despite not using APRL-generated power, he said.
Samta Power, an energy sector non-profit organisation in the city, said that since the discoms were seeking a refund from APRL, how can they burden the people with the surcharge. Earlier, discoms collected 5 paise/unit as fuel surcharge from all consumers for 36 months between 2019 and 2021. Now, the consumers are paying 7 paise/unit which they will have to pay till 2027 (60 months). This will be used by discoms to service the bank loans taken to pay APRL.
The case relates to the 1,320MW Kawai Power plant in Baran for which APRL had signed a power purchase agreement with discoms to sell 1,200 MW at Rs 3.23 a unit in 2010.
But later, APRL said the company had to import costly coal from Indonesia as domestic coal was not available due to a policy change and claimed compensatory tariff above the PPA rates for the 2013-2018 period. DD Agarwal, director of Samta Power, said the fuel surcharge should be collected in the same year and, if delayed, it would lapse as per the Electricity Act.
Though the discoms challenged APRL’s compensatory tariff and interest on the due amount, they lost the case in the Supreme Court and paid Rs 5,996 crore APRL, including an interest of Rs 2,947 crore.
‘Discoms can’t impose fuel surcharge’
“First, the discoms cannot impose fuel surcharge as it would lapse if not collected in the same financial year. Secondly, since they are still pursuing the case, it can’t be termed as a liability yet, Agarwal said.
He also said that in such a long-delayed case, the interest penalty should be waived. “The interest cost is close to Rs 3,000 crore. This is due to the delays in the tribunal and the Supreme Court. Why should the common man be punished for this,” he asked. Consumers who took connections after March 2018 are also paying the liability of the previous years despite not using APRL-generated power, he said.
