Battling a backlog of pending orders, the Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) has decided to devote half a month to hearing fresh cases while the rest of the month would be used for giving the orders in cases where the hearing has concluded.
According to sources, there are over 700 pending cases with the regulator. Hearing in several of them has concluded but CERC has been unable to keep pace with final order delivery due to staff crunch, particularly the legal staff. The cause list of cases prepared by the commission for April shows only half the month being dedicated to hearing. “The delay in coming out with orders has been impacting projects and, thus, the entire sector. This has led to the regulator dividing time between hearings and drafting final orders for pending cases so that both can be done in sync,” said a government official.
The regulator is ideally expected to pass order within 3 months of the first hearing in a case, but some cases have been awaiting verdict since 2014. A former member of the commission said that drafting a final order requires legal expertise, which the CERC has been missing due to its inability to get either lawyers or retired judges on board.
A power industry expert said that while the current arrangement may work in short-term, hearing of fresh cases would suffer if the system continued for longer. He added the lasting solution for CERC’s woes was to empower it financially so that the regulator can fill the vacancies. The commission currently has 33% of approved positions vacant.
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