Even as its share price dipped by 11 per cent at the bourses after the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) came out with the draft regulatory norms for power tariffs (for 2014-2019) which have suggested linking generation incentives with plant load factor (PlF) of plants, State-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on Tuesday adopted a guarded stand expressing hope that the regulator won't disincentivise the firm.
"This is a draft, the final guidelines will come around January after seeking comments from all the stakeholders and we are hopeful that the commission will not dis-incentivise or de-motivate the country's largest power generating firm," NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury told reporters.
The draft guidelines of the CERC, which came out earlier in the day, have proposed that the incentives given to the thermal power projects should be linked to the PlF of the plant and not PAF (plant availability factor).
"The PAF is the declared capacity or the total generation capacity of the plant, whereas PlF is the actual generation which is based on the demand," Roy Choudhury said.
The PlF may vary depending on the demand from the electricity distribution utilities but the actual generation capability or PAF remains the same.
He said "the PAF is generally higher than the PlF of the plant, therefore our incentives should not be linked to PlF."
The company has said that it will respond to the draft regulations by the CERC.
Revision of tariff regulations is reviewed every 5 years by CERC. The existing regulations (2009-14) will expire on March 31, 2014 and the revision of guidelines for 2014-19 is underway.
Meanwhile shares of NTPC on Tuesday tanked over 11 per cent amid concerns that the proposed electricity tariff regulation would have a negative impact on the company.
The firm's stock crashed 11.9 per cent to Rs 135 in intra-day trade and finally ended 11.26 per cent down at Rs 136 on the BSE. At the NSE, NTPC's stock dipped 11.37 per cent to close at Rs 136.