The Madras High Court has called for the response of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) as well as the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulation Commission (TNERC) to explain why electricity tariff should not be revised every year. It has also asked the two entities to explain why the corporation should not devise a procedure to make payments to power suppliers strictly on seniority basis without giving room for out-of-turn remittances.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh had taken up the task of attempting to improve the finances of Tangedco while dealing with a connected writ petition. The judge made it clear he was not trying to interfere with the functioning of either TNERC or Tangedco and the only reason for calling for remarks was to ensure the functioning of the corporation gets more regulated in accordance with the Electricity Act of 2003 and the regulations framed thereunder.
The judge had taken the assistance of senior counsel N.L. Rajah and advocate Rahul Balaji, who appears for various power generation companies in different cases, to ascertain ways and means through which Tangedco could be made into a viable undertaking. The two lawyers submitted an elaborate note to the court, listing out the measures that would have to be taken to cut down on the losses of Tangedco and make it a financially healthy corporation.
