MILITARY ENGINEERING SERVICE Vs. PUNJAB STATE ELECTRICITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by Military Engineering Services, Punjab is directed against the order dated 17.9.2007 passed by the respondent No. 1 Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission whereby it though considered the appellant's status as a deemed licensee refused to extend to it a differential treatment from other categories of consumers in the matter of tariff structure and thereby allegedly violated provision of section 61 (g) of the Electricity Act.

(2.) IN response to the application for determination of tariff in respect of the respondent No. 2, the Punjab State Electricity Board for the FY 2007 -08, the appellant filed written objections wherein it contended that the appellant was treated as a bulk consumer but it is a deemed licensee within the meaning of section 14 of the Electricity Act and thus the tariff structure in respect of the appellant category should not be like that of commercial or industrial consumer. The Commission is said to have admitted that the appellant is a deemed licensee, yet it treated the appellant at par with the other consumers.

(3.) THE appellant contends as follows: a. The Commission committed an error in not noticing the mandate of section 61(g) of the Act that provides that the tariff should be cost based, mentioning thereby cost of supply would include (a) cost of power, (b) wheeling charges and (c) trading margin. The appellant being a deemed licensee is entitled to be treated differently from bulk supply consumer and the only tariff that the appellant could have been subjected to was cost of supply.