Former State Congress president and Abhanpur legislator Dhanendra Sahu has moved the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) opposing the collection of money from consumers in the name of ‘Pension and Gratuity Fund.’
Terming it as illegal, Sahu said there has been no such provision in rules of power tariff exchange, he said. Objecting the petition filed by the power companies before the Commission, Sahu said the companies have deposited crores of rupees in the same fund during the past years.
According to tariff rules, it was essential for the Commission to protect the interests of the consumers while going for any revision in the tariff structure. He said money is being extorted from the consumers to clear the future pension dues of the employees who worked during the last fifty years. The money is being extorted since 2004, he said.
This means, money is being collected from the consumers for future expenditure which is against the provision laid down in Electricity rules, he said. Similarly, he said the damage of transformers and blade rotors in fire incidents should not be considered as ‘accidents.’
He also urged the Commission to impose penalty on power companies for such a claim. Such incidents took place because of the neglect on the part of the power companies, he said.
Sahu also urged the Commission to review its direction which states that the power generation companies should conduct its own performance audit. Such work is not impartial, he said. Outcome would be questionable if the companies carry out their own performance audit, he said.