KANAN DEVAN HILL PLANTATIONS Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A volley of questions while deciding the four appeals arise: a) whether the Commission can determine or enhance the bulk supply tariff at a flat rate applicable to different licensees in their respective areas of distribution? ,b) whether the parameters laid down in section 61 of the Act should not be followed?, c)whether, more particularly, criteria such as costs, expenses, availability of power, consumer base, consumer mix, efficiency of operations, financial viability of each licensee, distribution loss, geographical position which would vary from licensee to licensee should not have been considered?, d) whether there can be a uniform increase of bulk supply tariff applicable to the different licensees, e) whether in revising the bulk supply tariff the consumers of different licensees have really subsidized the consumers of the Kerala State Electricity Board?, f) whether there can be a provisional hike in bulk supply tariff as done by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission in the impugned order?, g) whether there can be increase of bulk supply tariff without increase or revision of retail supply tariff of each distribution licensee purchasing power from the Kerala State Electricity Board?, h) whether the Commission is absolutely unlawful on the facts and circumstances of the case as was presented before it by the KSEB in revising the Bulk Supply Tariff ? In the body of this judgement we will be addressing to these questions.

(2.) APPEAL No 25 of 2011, appeal No 107 0f 2011, appeal No. 127 of 2011 and appeal No. 151 of 2011 preferred by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Pvt. Ltd., Kinesco Power and Utilities Pvt. Ltd., Cochin Special Economic Zone, and Cochin Port Trust respectively are being disposed of by this Judgment and order in view of all the four appeals being directed against the order dated 13.12.2010 common to all the appellants(as also others who have not come up in this appeal) passed by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission in a suo motu proceeding whereby the Commission increased the Bulk Supply Tariff (BST) chargeable against these appellants and others, who are all distribution licensees, by the Kerala State Electricity Board, one of the respondents herein, who qua the appellants are suppliers of electricity.

(3.) CONTENTION of the appellant in appeal No. 25 of 2011. This appellant, a successor in interest of M/S Tata Tea Limited is said to be a employee -owned company with a total labour strength of 13,000 and 97% of them are shareholders of this company. It supplies electrical energy to its tea estates, factories, residence of the employees, and other utilities in and around Munnar in the State of Kerala. On 24.7.2009 the Board filed a tariff application before the Commission proposing therein a flat increase of 25% in the existing BST applicable to the licensees and bulk consumers but the Commission in its tariff order dated 2.12.2009 deferred the revision of BST as was proposed by the Board till the Commission was able to examine the ARRs and ERCs for the year 2010 -2011. Then, the Commission suo motu took up the matter after the ARRs and ERCs for the year 2010 -2011 of the licensees were finalised. Like other appellants the present appellant also had put in objections but the Commission after overruling the objections passed the impugned order enhancing the BST uniformly at 15% in energy charges which according to the appellants, has serious financial impact upon its distribution business. The grounds urged before the Commission as also this Tribunal are as follows: