Cuttack, June 26: The Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has been accused of passing on to the consumers the high loss incurred by distribution loss while fixing tariff every year.

In a rejoinder to the commission’s counter affidavit, the PIL petitioner, Keonjhar Navanirman Parishad, alleged that “the commission has been going on fixing the distribution loss on normative basis in its tariff order every year since 2004 and failed to ensure compliance of its directions by the distribution companies”.

The commission has been giving “latitude on distribution loss” while considering the application for the annual revenue requirement (ARR) of the distribution companies and increasing tariff without regulating them and shifting the burden on the consumers, the Parishad alleged.

The commission, in its counter affidavit, stated that it had adopted the normative level of distribution loss instead of accepting the distribution loss projected by the distribution companies.

“Though the distribution companies are showing distribution loss of 37.54 per cent during 2010-11 provisionally up to September 2010 and have projected distribution loss of 34.8 per cent for 2011-12, the commission, while determining the ARR and tariff for 2011-12, adopted distribution loss of 21.71 per cent,” the commission claimed.

According to the commission, the overall distribution loss had been reduced from 43.91 per cent in 1999-00 to 37.24 per cent by end of 2009-10.

Parishad secretary Dilip Kumar Mohapatra said: “The consumers are bearing all loss due to malfunctioning of the system, non-compliance of statutory requirements and statutory obligation by the licencees.”

The three Reliance Energy Limited (REL) managed companies — Wesco, Nesco and Southco — had never cared to infuse funds. REL had apparently refused to renew the shareholders agreement on behalf of its subsidiaries. The shareholders agreement expired in 2004.

The commission had also failed to resolve the Rs 400 crore NTPC bond issue, the rejoinder said. The three REL subsidiaries had refused to service the Rs 400 crore bonds floated in favour of the NTPC to meet the outstanding energy bill of the national PSU.

The high court, on March 31, issued a stay order on the commission’s order enhancing tariff of electricity for 2011- 2012 from April 1.

On a petition filed by the Orissa government, the high court, on June 21, allowed collection of enhanced tariff from commercial and industrial consumers, but ordered for continuance of the stay order on collection of enhanced tariff from domestic consumers till disposal of the case.

The division bench of Justice B.P. Das and Justice B.K. Mishra has fixed July 27 for further hearing on the PIL.

Initially, a PIL was filed by the Keonjhar Navanirman Parishad, the Federation of Consumer Organisations Orissa, and a consumer Arun Kumar Sahoo. Subsequently, analogous hearing on the PIL along with two other petitions filed by the Utkal Chamber of Commerce (UCC) representing 239 business houses in the state and Rohit Ferrotech Ltd of Kalinganagar Industrial Complex.