The Orissa High Court has quashed the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (OERC) order permitting the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) to trade power.
A division bench of the high court, while disposing of two petitions filed by state-owned power trading company Gridco, has directed the OERC to hear the matter afresh while giving reasonable opportunities to all the parties and dispose of the case by November-end. The court has also directed that its interim order on September 2 prohibiting the CESU from selling power will continue till November 30, 2008.
Gridco had moved the high court against the OREC order permitting the CESU to trade with 5mw of surplus power from fertiliser major IFFCO’s captive generation plant at Paradip. The CESU had made an arrangement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVNL), a subsidiary of the Central sector power company, NTPC Ltd, for sale of the power.
Gridco, the sole power trading company in Orissa, source power from various sources at different prices and offer the same to distribution companies (Distcos) at pool cost so as to keep the rate low. With the entry of a Dristco, CESU, the power-trading scenario in the state would have been changed. For, while Gridco purchases power from IFFCO’s captive generation plant at a rate of Rs 2.50 per unit, the CESU has offered higher rate (Rs 3.01 per unit) to IFFCO.
Gridco had appealed the court to intervene in the matter as the OERC decision, according to it, would disturb the power pricing mechanism resulting in shooting up of rates in the state.