Naveen Patnaik’s Subtle ‘No Tariff Hike’ Request, Has OERC Doing Balancing Act

The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), currently hearing the annual revenue requirement to fix bulk supply price for 2022-23, was subtly asked by the state government to disallow tariff hikes sought by power utilities.  The popular Naveen Patnaik government has told OERC to find a win-win solution for all stakeholders. “The balancing act of finding a solution without consumer tariff hikes is the prerogative of OERC, which is doable,” an industry expert says. The rationale for “no power tariff hikes”: The Four Tata Power DISCOMs in Odisha especially, TPWODL posted excellent results for the nine-month period in the current financial year. Their performances contributed to a total of Rs 600 crore regulatory surpluses.  In the regulatory framework, DISCOMs are permitted pass through of reasonable expenses and only 16% return on equity (RoE) and hence, the possibility to adjust the Rs 600 crore revenue surplus of Tata DISCOMs suitably while accommodating pass through of genuine expenses of GRIDCO, OPTCL and other state generation companies (OHPC & OPGC) with no increase in retail tariffs for consumers in 2022-23.  The quality of power supply and consumer services in the State are expected to improve with capital investment of Rs 2000 Cr by the Odisha Government over the next 2-3 years.