C O N T E N T S
|
Sr. No. |
Title |
Page No. |
|
1. |
Introduction |
1-2 |
|
2. |
Constitution of the
Commission |
3 |
|
3. |
Functions of the
Commission |
4-6 |
|
4. |
Important
Activities |
6 |
|
|
i) Issuance of
Tariff Orders |
7-8 |
|
|
ii) Market
Development, Capacity Addition and Introduction of Competition |
9 |
|
|
iii) Promotion of
Generation from Renewable Sources of Energy |
10 |
|
|
iv) Notification of
Codes |
11 |
|
|
v) Notification of Regulations |
12-14 |
|
|
vi) State Advisory
Committee |
15 |
|
|
vii) |
16-17 |
|
|
viii) Petitions to
the Commission |
18-20 |
|
|
ix) Participation
in Workshops/Conferences/Meetings |
21 |
|
5. |
Fund of the
Commission |
22 |
|
6. |
Accounts of the
Commission |
23 |
Introduction
The
Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission was first constituted by the Government
of Punjab through Notification dated
- setting up Central
and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions;
- delicensing
generation and freely allowing the setting up of captive generation
plants;
- providing for setting
up of a separate transmission utility at Central as well as State levels
which would be a government company for developing the transmission
network in a planned co-ordinated manner.
The load dispatch function could either be a part of the
transmission utility or a separate government entity;
- allowing open access
in transmission with provision for surcharge to take care of current cross
subsidy levels;
- Distribution Licensee
would be free to undertake generation and generating companies may likewise obtain distribution licenses;
- Trading as a distinct
activity recognized with the safeguard that Regulatory Commissions would
fix ceilings on trading margins, if necessary;
- permitting a direct
commercial relationship between a consumer and a generating company/trader
where price of power would not be regulated and only transmission,
wheeling charges and surcharge where applicable, being determined by the
Commission;
- setting up an
Appellate Tribunal for disposal of appeals against decisions of the
Central and State Commissions.
Section 82 of the
Electricity Act (Act) mandated that every State Government shall constitute an Electricity
Regulatory Commission within six months of the appointed date. The first
proviso to this Section laid down that the State Electricity Regulatory
Commission functioning before the appointed date shall be the State Commission
for the purpose of the Act.
Section
105 of the Act, requires the State Commission to prepare its Annual Report
giving a summary of its activities in such form and at such time as prescribed
by the State Government. Even though the State Government has not
indicated the reporting
format, a first
report
on the activities of the
Commission is being submitted covering the period from 18th April
2001 to 31st March 2008.
Constitution of the Commission
The Punjab State Electricity
Regulatory Commission (PSERC) was established by the Government of Punjab
through notification no. 8/2/98-1 PE (4)/6115 dated
The Commission at present consists of:
Chairman Sh.
Jai Singh Gill
Member Mrs.
Baljit Bains
Member Er.
S.S.Pall
The present Secretary of the Commission is Mrs.
For smooth functioning, the Commission has
distributed its work amongst the following wings headed by a Joint
Secretary/Director and a Legal wing by a Registrar :
1 Administration
2. Tariff
3. Regulations
4. Monitoring
& Finance
5. Legal
The Registrar of the Commission has been assigned the
work relating to registration of petitions and other legal matters. He has also
been designated as Information Officer of the Commission. The total staff
strength of the Commission’s office is 84 which comprises of 18 technical
personnel and 66 supporting staff.
Functions of the Commission
1. Section 86 of the Electricity Act, 2003
mandates the State Commission to perform the following functions:
a) issue
licence for transmission, distribution and trading of electricity under Sections 14 to
18;
b) introduce
Open Access in such phases and subject to such conditions
as may be specified under Section 42;
c) specify
an Electricity Supply Code under Section 50;
d) specify
and enforce standards of performance with respect to quality, continuity and reliability of service by
licensees under Sections
57 to 59 and 86 (1) (i);
e) determination
of tariff for generation, transmission and distribution
of electricity and issuance of Tariff Order under Sections 62 and 86 (1) (a);
f) prescribe the manner in which the State
Government shall pay the
amount of subsidy to the person affected by the grant of subsidy by the State
Government under Section 65;
g) promote
the development of market (including trading) in power under Section 66, in the
manner specified in the National Electricity
Policy;
h) regulate
purchase of electricity including the price at which electricity shall be procured from
different sources under
Section 86 (1) (b);
i) facilitate
intra-state transmission and wheeling of electricity under Section 86 (1) (c);
j) promote
cogeneration and generation of electricity from renewable
sources of energy under Section 86 (1) (e);
k) adjudicate
upon the disputes between the licensees and
generating
companies under Section 86 (1) (f);
l) levy fee for the purposes of the Electricity
Act, 2003 under Section
86 (1) (g);
m) specify
State Grid Code under Section 86 (1) (h);
n) fix the trading margin in the
intra-State trading of electricity under Section 86 (1) (j);
o) discharge
such other functions as may be assigned to it under Section 86 (1) (k);
p) establish
the State Advisory Committee under Section 87.
2. Advise
the State Government on all or any of the following matters under Section 86(2), namely
i) promotion
of competition, efficiency and economy in activities of the electricity industry;
ii) promotion
of investment in electricity industry;
iii) reorganization
and restructuring of electricity industry in the State;
iv) matters
concerning generation, transmission, distribution and trading of electricity.
3. Ensure
transparency while exercising its powers and discharging its functions under Section 86(3).
4. Under
Section 86(4), the State Commission shall be guided by the National Electricity Policy,
National Electricity Plan and Tariff Policy published
under Section 3.
5. Grants
and fees received and expenses incurred by the State Commission to be credited/debited respectively to the
fund constituted
for this purpose under Section 103.
6. Prepare
and submit to the Govt. its annual statement of accounts under Section 104.
7. Prepare
and submit to the Govt. its Annual Report in the form and at such time as may be
prescribed by the State Government under Section
105.
8. Make
Regulations under Section 181 to carry out its business under the provisions of the
Electricity Act, 2003.
The
Commission, during the period under report, has undertaken its statutory
functions in consonance with the provisions of the Act. The Commission has been
ensuring transparency in exercise of its powers and in the discharge of its
functions as laid down in Section 86(3). In the discharge of its functions the
Commission has been guided by the National Electricity Policy, National
Electricity Plan and Tariff Policy as laid down under Section 86 (4). The
Commission has been rendering advice to the Government in matters specified
under Section 86 (2) as and when required to do so. The Commission in
compliance with the provisions of Section 104 is preparing and submitting to
the Government its annual statement of accounts. As required under Section 181,
the Commission has framed and notified regulations to carry out its business
under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003.
Important
Activities
A summary of some of the important
activities of the Commission is contained in the succeeding paragraphs.
Issuance of Tariff Orders
As mandated under Sections 62 and 86 (1) (a) of the
Act, the Commission has been determining tariff for generation, transmission
and distribution of electricity in its annual Tariff Orders.
Section
64 (3) provides for the issuance of the Tariff Order within one hundred and
twenty days of receiving the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Tariff
Petition of the licensee.
PSEB
is the sole entity engaged in generation, transmission and distribution of
power in the State of
Tariff Order for the year Date
of issue
Tariff
Order for 2002-03
Tariff Order for 2003-04
Tariff Order for 2004-05
Tariff Order for 2005-06
Tariff Order for 2006-07
Tariff
Order for 2007-08
The
Tariff Order for the year 2007-08 had to be issued ‘Suo-motu’ since PSEB did
not file the ARR and Tariff petition for the year. The Electricity Act, 2003
and the Commission’s Regulations provide that the ARR and Tariff Petition for
the succeeding year will be filed by 30th November of the current
year. While the Commission has by and large abided by the time limit of 120
days in passing the Tariff Orders, filing of the ARR and Tariff Petitions has
not, however, adhered to the prescribed time schedule.
In
the issuance of the Tariff Orders, the Commission has kept in mind the
principles and methodologies laid down in Section 61 of the Act which are given
below:
i) adopting
principles and methodologies specified
by the Central Commission
for determination of the tariff
applicable to generating companies
and transmission licensee;
ii) conducting
the business of generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity on commercial principles;
iii) encouraging
competition, efficiency, economical use
of resources, good performance and
optimum investments;
iv) safeguarding
of consumers interest and at the same time, ensuring recovery of the cost of electricity in a reasonable manner;
v) rewarding efficiency in performance;
vi) reducing cross-subsidies with tariff progressively reflecting
the cost of supply of electricity;
vii) promoting co-generation and generation of electricity from
renewable sources of energy;
viii) being
guided by the National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy.
ix) The
Commission has prescribed the manner in which the State Government will pay
subsidy to the licensee as required under Section 65;
x) As
required under Section
86 (1)
(b), the Commission has been regulating long term
purchase of electricity.
Market
Development, Capacity Addition and Introduction of Competition
One of the objectives of the Electricity Act, 2003 is
to encourage investment in power generation and introduce an element of
competition in distribution
by allowing Open Access.
The Commission has introduced Open Access as mandated
under Section 42 of the Act and has framed necessary Regulations to
operationalize Open Access in the State. The Commission is also determining the
open access charges every year in its Tariff Orders.
The Commission is allowing PSEB to purchase power
both in the short term and long term from the open market. On a request from
PSEB, the Commission has approved capacity addition of two Thermal Power
Projects with capacity 1200 & 1800 M.W. through competitive bidding. The
Commission has also allowed PSEB to purchase electricity from independent power
producers such as the Malana and Bhillingana Power Projects located in the
states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand respectively.
Promotion
of Generation from Renewable Sources of Energy
The
Commission strives to promote co-generation and generation from renewable
sources of energy as required under Section 86 (1) (e).
The Commission is encouraging the setting up of New
Renewable Sources of Energy (NRSE) projects in the State in consonance with the
NRSE Policy of the State Government. As stipulated in the Act, the Commission
has determined the minimum quantity of NRSE power that a distribution licensee
in the state must procure which is indicated in the table below:
|
Sr. No. |
Year |
Minimum %
of purchase from renewable sources |
|
1. |
2007-08 and 2008-09 |
1% |
|
2. |
2009-10 |
2% |
|
3. |
2010-11 |
3% |
|
4. |
2011-12 |
4% |
Notification
of Codes
The
Commission has notified the Electricity Supply Code as required under Section
50 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
The
Commission has also specified standards of performance and conditions of supply
for licensees with respect to quality, continuity and reliability of supply of
power in the State as required under Sections 56 to 59 and which the Licensee
is required to adopt in a phased manner.
In
exercise of its power under Section 86 (1) (h), the Commission has also
notified the State Grid Code consistent with the Grid Code specified under
clause (h) of Section 79 (1).
The
Commission has also fixed the trading margin for intra-state trading of
electricity as required under Section 86 (1) (j).
Notification
of Regulations
In accordance with the provisions of Section 181 and other provisions of
the Electricity Act, 2003, the Commission has notified the following
regulations:
Regulations
notified by PSERC upto
|
Sr No. |
Name of Regulation |
PSERC Notification No.
and date |
Date of notification in
the Punjab Govt. Gazette |
|
1. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.12 |
28.1.05 |
|
2. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.13 |
22.4.05 |
|
3. |
Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Procedure for
filing Appeal before the Appellate Authority) Regulations, 2005 |
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.14 dt. |
22.4.05 |
|
4. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Reg.16 |
10.6.05 |
|
5. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.18 |
26.8.05 |
|
6. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.19 |
9.9.05 |
|
7. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.21 dt. |
2.12.05 |
|
8. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.22 |
2.12.05 |
|
9. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.23 |
2.12.05 |
|
10. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.24 |
2.12.05 |
|
11. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.26 |
24.3.06 |
|
12. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.2B |
14.7.06 |
|
13. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/28 dt.
|
22.9.06 |
|
14. |
(Electricity
Supply Code and Related Matters) Regulations, 2007 |
No.PSERC/Secy/31 dt.
|
27.7.07 |
|
15. |
Punjab
State Electricity Regulatory Commission (Procedure for filing appeal before
the Appellate Authority) (1st Amendment) Regulations, 2007 |
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.32 dt.
|
27.7.07 |
|
16. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.33 dt.
|
31.8.07 |
|
17. |
|
No.PSERC/Secy/Regu.34 dt.
|
7.9.07 |
State Advisory Committee
In accordance with the stipulations of Section 87 of
the Electricity Act, 2003, the Commission has constituted the State Advisory
Committee consisting of members representing the interests of commerce,
industry, transport, agriculture, labour, consumers, non-governmental
organizations and academic and research bodies in the electricity sector. The
first such Committee was set up in March 2003 and is being reconstituted from
time to time.
The Chairman of the Commission is the ex-officio
Chairman of the State Advisory Committee while the Members of the Commission
and the Secretary to Punjab Government in charge of the department dealing with
Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution are the ex officio members of the
Committee.
The State Advisory Committee is to advise the
Commission on:
i) major questions of policy;
ii) matters relating to quality, continuity
and extent of service provided by the licensees;
iii) compliance by licensees with the
conditions and requirements of their licence;
iv) protection of consumer interest; and
v) electricity supply and overall
standards of performance by PSEB.
Meetings of the State Advisory Committee are held
after regular intervals to seek advice of the Committee on important issues
like the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) of PSEB, framing of Regulations by
the Commission and other matters involving the interests of the stake holders
at large.
In the discharge of its obligation to protect the
interests of the consumers, a Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure 2006 for
PSEB has been approved by the Commission which became effective from
The Commission has notified the PSERC (Forum and
Ombudsman) Regulations, 2005 under Sections 42(5), 42(6) and 42(7) of the
Electricity Act, 2003 in accordance with which, PSEB has since set up the
Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum which hears appeals arising out of the
orders of the DSC’s. The Commission has also appointed the Ombudsman,
Electricity to whom appeals against decisions of the Forum are submitted. The
Ombudsman has been functional since
PSERC has evolved a broad strategy to reach out to
consumers and take initiatives for achieving consumer awareness and to protect
their interests. Some steps taken in this direction are:
1. Helping the consumer in redressal of
his grievance relating to Power Sector against the utility.
2. Inviting
objections from consumers to the tariff proposals.
3. Encourage consumer participation in
public hearings organized in
connection with tariff proposals.
4. Obtaining suggestions and comments of
the public before framing Rules & Regulations or issue of important orders
affecting the interests of
consumers.
5. The Commission has set up a Consumer
Advocacy Cell in the Commission to help consumers in redressal of their
grievances by the utility.
6. Keeping the consumer informed on details
of the Consumer Complaint Handling Procedure, Forum & Ombudsman
Regulations.
7. Publishing and distributing brochures
on issues relevant to power consumers.
8. Interacting with the State Advisory
Committee on important consumer related matters.
Petitions to the Commission
Petitions
on matters relating to Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Power are
filed before the Commission as per provisions of the Electricity Act. During
the period under report, the Commission has decided 142 petitions which came up
before it on issues such as determination of Tariff, levy of fuel surcharge,
allowing of Open Access, approval of Request for Qualification & Power
Purchase Agreement, fixation of transmission and wheeling charges and fuel cost
adjustment surcharge etc. An abstract of the yearwise receipt and disposal of
the petitions is given below:
Number of petitions received and
decided
|
Sr. No. |
Year |
Opening balance |
No. of petitions received during the year |
No. of petitions decided during the year |
Closing balance |
|
1 |
2002-03 |
Nil |
27 |
7 |
20 |
|
2 |
2003-04 |
20 |
24 |
28 |
16 |
|
3 |
2004-05 |
16 |
13 |
15 |
14 |
|
4 |
2005-06 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
13 |
|
5 |
2006-07 |
13 |
17 |
19 |
11 |
|
6 |
2007-08 |
11 |
65 |
57 |
19 |
|
|
Total |
- |
161 |
142 |
19 |
The
process of deciding these petitions, on occasion has wider implications and
matters affecting not only the petitioners but consumers in general also come
up for consideration. A few such important decisions are highlighted below:
Gist of major decisions of the Commission
|
Sr. No |
Petition
No. |
Subject
matter |
Decision |
|
1. |
1/2001 |
In this Petition, the NTPC prayed to the Commission to order
that new Escrow arrangement should be entered into by PSEB only after
ensuring that it was able to meet its payment obligations in respect of
existing supplies from NTPC. |
Commission ordered that the Board may not enter into any new
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Escrow arrangements without ensuring that
it is able to meet its payment obligations in respect of existing supplies
and that existing supplies have preferential charge on the revenues of the
purchaser over the charge of new supplies. To this purpose, the Board will
hear NTPC as an interested party before proposing any new Power Purchase
Agreement with Escrow arrangements. The NTPC, if dis-satisfied with the
decisions/recommendations of the Board or otherwise if so desires it may
appear before the Commission at the time of hearing for the approval of the
Power Purchase Agreement. The Board is also directed to serve to the
petitioner a copy of any petition/Application that may be filed by the Board
before the Commission for approval of any Power Purchase Agreement containing
provision for escrow arrangement. |
|
2. |
5/2003, 12/2003, 6/2004 &9/2004 |
M/s
PACL, Gujrat Ambuja, Siel ltd. and NFL respectively filed petitions to
determine/fix tariff, surcharge, wheeling charges and other conditions for
wheeling/purchase of electricity from such a source other than the
distribution licensee (PSEB) of the area. |
The
Commission determined the Transmission and Wheeling Charges @
Rs.2891.33/MW/day for long term customers and @ Rs.2168.71/MW/day for short
term customers. It also fixed the Operation Charges under Section 32 of the
Act for long term customers and for short term customers @ Rs.3000/- per day
or part thereof. Further, Surcharge @ 35.50 paise per unit or say 36 paise
per unit and nil in case of captive generating plants for supply of
electricity for its own use was fixed. T&D losses @ 11% to be compensated
by additional injection of electricity at the injection point were fixed.
There will be no Additional Surcharge. Unscheduled Inter-change Charges as
per Regulation 22 of the PSERC (Open Access) Regulations, 2005. Reactive
Energy Charges as per Regulation 38(c) of the PSERC (Terms and Conditions for
Determination of Tariff) Regulations, 2005 to be applicable with effect from |
|
3 |
5/2007 |
Petition
filed by PSEB for grant of additional time for filing ARR/Tariff Petition for
the year 2007-08 upto |
In
terms of Regulation 13 (2) of PSERC (Terms and Conditions for Determination
of Tariff) Regulations, 2005 and in pursuance of para 8.1 (7) of the National
Tariff policy the Commission decided to take up determination of tariff ‘suo
motu’ for the year 2007-08. |
|
4. |
9/2005 |
Petition filed by PSEB
for approval of the supply deficit-procurement of 1000 MW Power on long term
basis for initiating the bidding process as per guidelines by Ministry of
Power No. 23/11/2004-R&R (Vol. III) u/s 86 of the Electricity Act, 2003. |
PSEB
was allowed to take appropriate measures to go in for competitive bidding for
purchase of electricity upto 1000 MW as per bid documents separately approved
by the Commission. |
|
5. |
9/2006 |
Petition
for approval of long term PSA with
Power Trading Corporation India Ltd., |
The
Commission granted approval to the electricity purchase and procurement
process of PSEB including the capped tariff at which the electricity was to
be procured through this PSA between PSEB and PTC for supply of power from
the 22.5 MW Bhilangana Hydro Electric Project located in District Tehri
Garhwal, Uttarakhand. |
|
6 |
11/2006 |
Petition
by PSEB for approval of PSA dated 23.03.2006, signed between PSEB and Power
Trading Corporation India Ltd., |
The
Commission granted approval to the electricity purchase and procurement
process of PSEB including the capped tariff at which the electricity was to
be procured through the PSA between PSEB and PTC for supply of power from the
100 MW Malana-II Hydro Electric Project located in District Kullu in the
State of Himachal Pradesh being developed by Everest Power Private Limited. |
Participation in Workshops/Conferences/Meetings
With a view to keeping
abreast of the latest developments in the Power Sector, the Chairman, Members
and other officers of the Commission have been attending seminars/ workshops/ conferences/
training programmes/ meetings organized from time to time by various
organisations such as the Forum of Regulators, the Forum of Indian Regulators,
the Tata Energy and Resources Institute and the South Asia Forum for
Infrastructure Regulation. Such participation encourages regulatory uniformity
and also provides a forum for interaction and discussion leading to better understanding
of new concepts and emerging trends in this sector.
Fund of the Commission
As required under Section 103 of the Electricity Act,
2003, a Fund called the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission Fund has
been got established by the Government of Punjab.
The Fund is credited with:
a) grants made to the Commission by the
State Government;
b) all fees received by the Commission
under this Act;
c) all sums received by the Commission
from others sources.
The Fund is used for meeting:
a) the salary, allowances and other
remuneration of Chairperson, Members, Secretary, Officers and other employees
of the Commission;
b) the expenses of the Commission in
discharge of its functions under Section 86;
c) the
expenses of the Commission on objects and for purposes authorized by this Act.
Accounts of the Commission
As per Section 104 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the
annual statement of Accounts of the Commission are being prepared and regularly
sent to the Government of Punjab after getting them audited from the Accountant
General (Audit),
Income and expenditure accounts for the years
2001-02 to 2007-08
(Rs. in lacs)
|
Year |
Budget |
Expenditure |
|
2001-02 |
200.00 |
104.00 |
|
2002-03 |
200.00 |
177.67 |
|
2003-04 |
198.00 |
184.82 |
|
2004-05 |
259.06 |
227.05 |
|
2005-06 |
286.00 |
282.64 |
|
2006-07 |
354.00 |
300.56 |
|
2007-08 |
366.00 |
324.74 |
The
Commission’s accounts for the period upto 2006-07 duly audited have already
been placed before the State Legislature through the Government as required
under Section 104 (4) of the Electricity Act, 2003. The accounts for the year
2007-08 are under preparation and the same will be forwarded to the Government
after these are audited by the Accountant General (Audit),