Drought delayed plea on tariff, says KPTCL CMD

By Divya Sreedharan

BANGALORE, NOV. 28. Has the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) complied with all directives issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) during its first tariff hike?

Technically speaking, the KPTCL has every right to seek an increase in the tariff. The Karnataka Electricity Reform Act (1999) says clearly that tariff can be amended once a financial year.

In December 2000, the KERC allowed the KPTCL to increase the tariff by 17 per cent. Less than a year later, the KPTCL has again applied for a tariff revision.

The KPTCL CMD, Mr. V.P. Baligar, says the petition was submitted ``too late''. ``We should have applied (for tariff revision) in July this year. But things were delayed by the drought,'' he adds.

Directives: One important KERC order -- issued last year -- related to reducing technical losses -- i.e., transmission and distribution (T&D) and commercial losses. The KPTCL was to reduce commercial losses by 5.5 per cent in 2000-2001, and by 5 per cent in 2001-02. Moreover, the KERC wanted the utility to cut T&D losses by two per cent in 2001-02.

But, so far, the KPTCL has only been able to reduce its total losses from 38.5 per cent to 35.5 per cent. This, according to Mr. Baligar, is quite acceptable. ``Nowhere in the world have losses decreased by over 2.5 per cent a year,'' he says. Besides, the situation is the same in other States which have taken up power reforms.

``In Haryana, losses came down by 2.62 per cent a year. In fact, in a reforming mode, the actual losses go up because for the first time, there is a correct measurement of the loss,'' he says.

Mr. Baligar stresses that the KPTCL invested Rs. 600-700 crore to reduce losses by one per cent. ``But we only have Rs. 700-750 crore annually for system improvement,'' he points out. Because of that, the KPTCL can reduce technical losses by 1-1.5 per cent, and commercial losses by 1-1.25 per cent a year, he adds.

He says that the KPTCL has complied with most of the other KERC directives. A toll free-telephone number has been set up in Bangalore, and unauthorised irrigation pumpsets (IP sets) have been regularised or disconnected (50,299 IP sets identified, 25,412 disconnected).

The KERC had asked the KPTCL to survey all IP sets, borewells, and open wells. ``But the Geology Department had already done such a study, and we gave that information to KERC. We also told the KERC that the ratio of IP sets to open wells was 65:35,'' Mr. Baligar says.

Directives on safety standards are being followed, he says. ``The employee death rate in accidents has come down by 20 per cent, and compensation (for the general public) has been raised to Rs. 1 lakh,''he adds.

It may be recalled that the KPTCL had got the KERC directives stayed by the High Court. Later, the case was settled. ``Now, we are collecting three months minimum deposit as per the High Court order on the directives,'' Mr. Baligar says.

He says the only directive which has not been complied with pertains to ``providing consumers with compensation for deficient service''. ``Given the current demand-supply gap, it is difficult to provide quality power all the time. There are voltage fluctuations, and the frequency drops below the desired level,'' he adds.

The KERC is going through the KPTCL tariff petition and its ``expected revenue charges'' application. Once the Commission accepts the KPTCL tariff petition, it will have to reply within 90 days.

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