“PSEB can continue as bundled entity:” PSEB Engineers Association

(Vinod Kumar Gupta)

Publication Date 21/8/2009
Patiala: “PSEB can continue as a bundled entity by separating trading functions from it” asserts PSEB Engineers Association in a letter to Chief Minister Punjab.
Law point that PSEB can continue as a single entity by separating trading function has now been settled by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity in its recent judgment so the process of reforms in PSEB should be taken up in consultation with all stake holders, said HS Bedi President of Association.

The letter to CM mentions that many state electricity boards in the country have been restructured in to different generation, transmission and distribution companies under the impression that it is mandatory to un-bundle SEB as per Electricity Act 2003.

However in a landmark judgment, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, the highest dispute reddressal forum for electricity laws in its order has held that it is not mandatory to unbundle State Electricity Boards as per Act 2003.

The tribunal has held that the main objective of the Act does not seem to be elimination of State Electricity Boards or their unbundling into separate entities but to improve its efficiency.

The Association stresses as per judgment it is not mandated under the act to split up the functions of generation, transmission and distribution in to separate companies/ organizations. Further it is permissible under the Act to retain generation, transmission and distribution under one composite company and for the purpose of trading only a separate company would be required.

HS Bedi further said that different studies conducted on the effect of unbundling of state electricity boards and on their performance including that conducted by Ministry of Power has established beyond doubt that unbundling of electricity boards have failed to improve the overall performance of these unbundled utilities.