The Supreme Court today directed DVC

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court today directed Damodar Valley
Corporation (DVC) to give information on its accounts so that it can ascertain
whether electricity regulator CERC has properly fixed its power tariffs, based
on its expenditure and other inputs. A bench comprising Chief Justice S H
Kapadia and Justice K S Radhakrishnan said it would look into the accounts of
the DVC and some other power producers to examine whether the CERC had validly
fixed tariff for the April, 2006-March, 2009, period. "We have to go into your
account books to examine the issue. Please prepare a chart and submit us by next
hearing, so that we could interpret it," the court said. Moreover, the apex
court, which had stayed the order of power tribunal APTEL to refund Rs 3,000
crore alleged extra tariff collected by the DVC, said the rate of tariff of the
power generator would be subject to the outcome of the petition. "The rate of
tariff of DVC would be subject to the outcome of the petition," the bench said.
DVC was represented by Attorney General G E Vahanvati and Solicitor General
Gopal Subramanium. The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity had held that DVC had
collected in excess of the price determined by power regulator CERC and directed
it to refund the ''extra tariff'' collected between April, 2006, and March,
2010, in an order passed on May 10, 2010. According to the DVC petition, Central
Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had not taken into account the
additional cost inputs of the company while fixing the tariff for December,
2006. The additional input costs, according to the DVC, included a revision of
salaries of DVC employees as per the Sixth Pay Commission, payment of gratuity
and pension, money spent on enhancing generating units and opening of new
blocks. When the tariff fixed by the CERC was first challenged by the DVC before
APTEL on November, 2006, it had directed the CERC to determine it afresh.
Following this, CERC had again decided the tariff on August, 2009, and,
rejecting DVC''s claims, directed it to refund Rs 3,000 crore to consumers. When
DVC took up the matter before APTEL again, the tribunal ruled in favour of the
CERC and directed the corporation to refund the amount. According to the DVC,
the CERC had allowed only an amount of Rs 3,777 crore against its total claim of
Rs 8,483 crore for that period -- leaving a huge gap of Rs 4,706 crore. It
stated that more than 55 per cent of its claim was disallowed by the CERC.
Challenging this, DVC requested the Supreme Court to "allow its appeal and set
aside the judgment passed by APTEL and remit the matter back to CERC for
redetermination of tariff as per its direction." PTI