Bangalore: Even though the power sector was restructured in 2000, the electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) are not functioning independently, K.P. Pandey, Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), has said.

Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, he said the sector was restructured to facilitate decentralisation. "However, the restructuring of the power sector has not served its purpose," he said.

He said the ESCOMs filed the estimated revenue collection (ERC) only 15 days ago. ERC was to have been filed in December. "Any liability suffered by the five months delay will not be passed on to consumers," he said.

He said: "If the ESCOMs are not allowed to function independently, and if somebody exercises control over them, what is use of decentralising the sector?" he asked. He said an agency had been appointed to look into the ERC. "The Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, has been asked to review the document. We need a few clarifications and have asked the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. to file them," he said.

The ERC would then be scrutinised, and the ESCOMs asked to publish notifications. "Four months after the public notifications are issued, the new tariff will be announced," he said.

Regarding the three months' minimum deposit, Mr. Pandey said that according to the Electricity Act, 2003, the ESCOMs should pay six per cent interest on the deposit to all consumers. (The interest is due in June.) "The general directions in this regard have been issued. If the ESCOMs do not comply with the directions, and if the consumers complain, we will issue specific directions to the ESCOM concerned," he said.

Mr. Pandey said there was a delay in the Government informing the ESCOMs of the subsidy that would be released to them.

With regard to the rate for electricity consumed by irrigation pumpsets (IP sets), the KERC Chairman said that if the Government subsidy was not released within the first month of every quarter, the ESCOMs would be forced to charge IP set consumers Rs. 2.15 a unit. If the subsidy was released on time, consumers would have to pay only 40 paise a unit, he said.

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