State’s power generation policy challenged in HC
Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 18
Entertaining a civil writ petition filed by a retired superintending engineer of the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Sukhninder Singh, in which the petitioner has challenged the power generation policy of the Punjab Government, the division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice
of motion to the Punjab Government, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and others for July 27.

According to the copy of the petition in possession of The Tribune, the power generation policy notified by the state government last year has several guidelines that are not in conformity with the National Tariff Policy framed under the Electricity Act 2003.

The petition reads that since the steps of implementation contained in the policy are in conflict with specific provisions of the National Tariff Policy, its proper implementation would be impossible.

In his petition, Sukhninder has prayed before the HC that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) route in the power generation policy for awarding power projects to private players would lead to an increase in tariff and that is not in public interest.

The petition also mentioned that even the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) had conveyed its reservations regarding the policy to the state government on September 17 last year.

Accepting the petition, the HC has issued a notice of motion to Punjab Government and PSPCL for July 27.