CERC stays availability tariff for NTPC

The Commission, however, said that all arrangements for the implementation of the ABT order with regard to other power utilities should go on as per schedule "in view of the rampant indiscipline in the grid" and added that all parties were agreeable that the ABT would be useful in controlling indiscipline.

NTPC sought a review of the Commission’s earlier order on ABT that stipulated tariff norms on the basis of power availability at the rate of 80 per cent of capacity for the year 2000-01 and 85 per cent for the subsequent years, saying it was discriminatory and contrary to draft notification issued last year.

Before CERC could take up NTPC’s review petition for hearing on March 7, the company had moved the Delhi High Court for setting aside the ABT order as it feared the lapse of the appeal period against the regulatory body’s January 4 decision.

The corporation sought a stay from the Commission pending disposal of the petition and prayed that "fixation of target availability of 80 per cent or 85 per cent was against 70 per cent as contained in the draft notification of April 7, 1999."

NTPC also requested CERC to advise the centre to make the norms and principles of the ABT order applicable to all generators, including private power producers and state utilities.

The petition said that R N Srivastava, chairman of the Central Electricity Authority and ex-officio member of the Commission, did not associate himself with the proceedings on ABT on the ground that the issue had been dealt with by him as chairman of the National Task Force (NTF) which had sent its report to the power ministry.

Stating that NTF recommendations were contained in the draft ABT notification, the petition said the Commission had erred in fixing the target availability at up to 85 per cent without considering other norms and tariff principles.

If the 85 per cent availability tariff could be compared with the corporation’s performance during three years ending 1999-2000, NTPC would lose over Rs 3,070 crore, petition said.

In its appeal to the Delhi High Court, NTPC said last week that CERC’s tariff norms were bad in law and would cause severe financial losses to the corporation.

"The commission seriously erred in fixing the norms andparameters for ntpc thermal stations, ignoring the norms and parameters applicable to thermal stations of independent power producers or owned by states… All thermal stations and all power producers should have a level playing field," it said.