Torrent Power Limited (TPL) has said in its submission before the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) that it will comply with commission’s directions with regard to subsidised power supply to Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumers in Ahmedabad, Surat and Gandhinagar. At present, the company distributes power in these areas.

The submissions were made on October 12 during the final hearing on the issue raised by former MLA and general secretary of Mahagujarat Janta Party (MJP), Sunil Oza. The hearings were conducted on an application filed by TPL, seeking 16 per cent raise in electricity tariff from the next financial year. A total of 20 representatives from Ahmedabad, Surat and Gandhinagar had taken part in the hearings that went on for about a month on different dates.

Gerc asked TPL to submit the list of BPL consumers for taking a final decision in the matter. Oza, a lawyer, had argued that if the BPL consumers could avail of subsidised power in the rest of the state where the supply is maintained by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) under the provisions of the National Electricity Policy, 2005, the same benefit could be extended to TPL as well.

Oza had also pointed out that consumers using 30 units of power every month or below were to be considered in the BPL category for giving them subsidised power, and that each distribution company must introduce a separate category for these consumers.

GUVNL, a state government undertaking, created a BPL category as per Central electricity policy last year, while TPL had been delaying it so far although it had been distributing power in three cities of since 1996. GUVNL charges Rs 1.50 per unit from BPL consumers against Rs 4 per unit charges for residential, Rs 4.82 for commercial and Rs 5.41 for industrial consumers. But it is also given an annual subsidy of Rs 1,900 crore to compensate for the losses incurred for supplying power to BPL consumers as well as for agricultural usage at cheaper rates.

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