Ranchi: The Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC) was occupying for the last six months since the state government is to create its own chairman and associates.
The JSERC is accountable for ascertaining tariff for production, transmission and supply of power, regulating intra-state electricity transmission and electricity buy, issuing permits to firms trying to create, transmit and distribute electricity and encouraging generation of power from renewable resources.
Notably, the main minister Hemant Soren retains the electricity portfolio from the nation cabinet.
The JSERC was without a chairman later Arbind Prasad stepped on June 12, 2020.
Ever since that time, the commission was working with just two of its own associates Rabindra Narayan Singh along with Pravas Kumar Singh.
But, Rabindra Narayan murdered January 9 this season and Pravas murdered February 19, making the JSERC rudderless.
A public note put out from the JSERC on its own site points out that because the articles of chairperson and members of this commission are empty, hearing all cases recorded before the Commission endure’adjourned until farther orders’.
This is actually the next time that JSERC was made to lie idle for want of a quorum.
Before, JSERC went to hibernation in December 16, 2012 into January 10, 2014 following its then chairman, Mukhtiyar Singh, superannuated on December 15, 2012 leaving a lone manhood, T Munikrishnaiah, for over a year.
Meanwhile, the firms engaged in production, transmission and supply of electricity from the nation, which were filed their electricity tariff suggestions together with annual earnings demands with JSERC, are placed on an infinite wait for their yearly energy tariff to be revised.
According to the JSERC Act, a quorum of two members must listen to cases, decide power tariff and execute regular functioning.
Considering most of posts of chairman and members of all JSERC are lying empty, hearing of tariff petitions won’t be possible until the state administration gets the requisite appointments.
In ordinary times, electricity tariffs are declared by JSERC at February or March with fresh tariffs made with April 1.
This calendar year, tariff announcements have been put to be postponed indefinitely.
“We’ve obtained tariff-related petitions from most of the firms concerned.
Additional action on these petitions will restart, after deductions are stuffed with,” Rajendra Prasad Nayak, the secretary-cum-law officer of JSERC, told TOI.
“After JSERC gets got the requisite quorum, discovering electricity tariff and holding hearings of impending cases would be declared,” he added.