Rakesh Bhatnagar

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the Appellate Energy Tribunal (Aptel)’ s order, which asked the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) to consider Reliance Energy Ltd’s claim over power generated by the Tata Power Company.

A bench headed by justice B N Agarwal admitted Tata Power’s plea and stayed Aptel’s decision that had in effect declared the power purchase agreement between Tata Power and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) as null and void.

Aptel had also called for equitable distribution of available power to all the city’s consumers, irrespective of prior arrangements between power suppliers.

The apex court asked Merc, the state power regulator, to process Reliance Energy’s application for allocation of power.

Analysts said this order upheld the power purchase agreement between Tata Power and BEST, and therefore it provides relief to BEST too for it entitles it to 800 mw supplies. This may, however, result in Reliance Energy losing 153 mw. Now, Reliance Energy would have to procure another 250 to 300 mw for its customers at Rs 10 to Rs 12.50 a unit.

Aptel had said that MERC had powers to regulate the quantity of energy that may be supplied by a generating company to a distribution licensee when both are under the jurisdiction of the same commission.

While approving the annual revenue requirement of the three utilities for the financial year 2007-08, MERC had allocated 762 mw power to Reliance Energy, which supplies power to the suburbs of Mumbai from Tata Power’s generation capacity of 1777 mw and 647 mw to BEST,which also provides power to the island city.

Another 477 mw was allocated to Tata Power’s own bulk supply operations.

Source : DNA