The Supreme Court Friday issued notices to the three private distribution power utilities in the capital as to why government subsidies due to them should not be adjusted against their current outstanding dues, as opposed to what was owed to them historically.
A bench of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha, and Justices Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph, while issuing the notice, declined to put on hold a hearing on the contempt petition against the power distribution companies by those who supply electricity to them.
The notice was been sent to Indraprastha Power Generation, Pragati Power and Delhi Transco. The order notice also comes against the backdrop of some related orders issued by the tribunal set up to hear issues on such matters.
The two Reliance power distribution companies, that are among the private power distribution firms in thr capital, have already challenged the May 23 order of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity.
By the said order, the tribunal had held the amount of subsidy credited to the generation and transmission companies have been correctly adjusted only against the outstanding dues, and not against the current dues from January to March, as per the directions of the Delhi government.
Assailing the order, the distribution companies said it exceeded its jurisdiction as the matter relating to the "payment of current and past dues of the state and central utilities along with the issue of amortization of regulatory asset is pending before the Supreme Court".
The power distribution companies also made the representation, quoting section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003: "Once the subsidy amount is sanctioned, the state government has to pay the subsidy amount to the distribution licensee who can utilize the subsidy amount in any manner it deems fit."
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It further contended that even if the Delhi government wanted to adjust the subsidy amount towards the outstanding dues of the three power generation and transmission companies, then the same could be done in the manner specified by the distribution companies.
The Delhi government March 24 had sanctioned subsidy amount of Rs.96.46 crore in favour of distribution companies. But the sanction letter indicated the subsidy amount will be utilized towards payment of outstanding dues of power generation companies and also that such the subsidy amount was released in their favour.
The apex court, by its March 26 order, directed the distribution firms to pay the current dues to the power generation and transmission companies from March, relating to the billing period from January.
BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna contended that since it only had to pay the current dues in terms of the March 26 order of the apex court, it informed the power generating firms that the subsidy amount would be adjusted towards their current dues, and not past outstanding.
Yet, the distribution firms added, the generating companies incorrectly adjusted the amount against their past dues that relates a period prior to January 2014.