In a landmark judgement which could pave the way for reduction of power tariff in the state, Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regularity Commission (UPERC) directed the private Roza general unit at Shahjehanpur to refund Rs 631 crore to UP Power Corporation limited (UPPCl) which it claimed as multi-year tariff between 2009-10 and 2013-14.
Commission chairman Desh Deepak Verma and member S K Agarwal in their 99-page judgement, rejected the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and announced the verdict based on regulation tariff system fixed by the Commission.
Earlier, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad had contested the claim of the power company saying that the tariff of generation company should be decided on tariff fixed by the Commission rather than going by the PPA.
The Commission, in its order, said that in Roza- Stage I, the company will have to return Rs 264 crore, while in Stage II, Rs 61.4 crores will have to be refunded. Besides, the company will also have to refund Rs 306 crore they took from UPPCl as multi-year tariff till 2016-17. The total stands to around Rs 631 crore.
A UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad office bearer termed te judgement as ‘historic’ asnd said that it would help reduce power tariff. He claimed that the judgement would ensure decrease between 21 and 35 paise per unit purchase of power from this private unit.
The Commission has also struck down the demand of Rs 7153.21 crore by Roza unit under multi-year tariff between 2014-15 and 2018-19 and only approved Rs 6443.94 crore. Similarly, the demand of Rs 517 crore as capital cost has been drastically slashed to just Rs 48 crore.
The Parishad officebearer said that the tariff rate submitted by the UPPCl for 2017-18 for Roza power plant said about a proposed fixed charge of Rs 1.76 per unit but after the Commission’s decision today, it has come down to Rs 1.55 per unit, which is less by 21 paise per unit. “Such decisions by the Commission would benefit the consumers at last,” he said.