Addressing a news conference, P Subrahmanyam, chairman of MERC, said even with limited powers, the commission can examine working of MSEB and question several crucial decisions taken by it.

Once, it is given the powers stated under the Clause 22 (2) of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act 1998, then its scope widens further. Among others, these primarily relate to its powers regarding issuing licences and resolving disputes of power companies in the state. The commission, however, has asked for these powers as well.

"We are asking MSEB to justify the proposed increase in tariff," Subrahmanyam said. Without making any comments on MSEB's present status, he said MSEB will have to justify with evidence in public hearings as to why it requires to hike tariff again as the last increase was implemented in September 1998. MERC has invited opinions from all quarters -- public, industry associations, farmers and other interested parties. To create awareness, MERC will conduct public hearings in different parts of Maharashtra.

Subrahmanyam said the commission, which has the final authority on deciding power tariff, will take the decision only after hearing all the parties, including board and public bodies. The SERC has fixed December 23 as the last date for receiving objections from interested parties. The commission plans to finalise tariff structure by February next year. Earlier, the power tariff was decided by the Cabinet without taking the opinion of consumers.

This has resulted in high subsidies to some section of the society while industries were charged a very high rate. Subrahmanyam said commission's main objective is to give justice to consumers and its main thrust will be on transparency. MSEB has been often alleged for paying a higher cost of electricity to DPC which has put pressures on the board to increase its tariff.