The Tata Power Company has been granted time up to October 15, 2003, to submit its tariff revision proposal before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The TPC was earlier directed to submit its TRP by October 1. This comes in the wake of the Reliance group-promoted BSES submitting its TRP last week.

BSES had sought confidentiality on its TRP till such time TPC submits its TRP before MERC, which was turned down by the commission. TPC had sought more time to submit its TRP on grounds of time taken for data compilation.

According to a source, TPC has also communicated to the MERC the need for the commission to take up hearings on several pending cases (on its dispute with BSES) on a regular basis and in the chronological sequence.

A senior TPC official is believed to have called upon the MERC chairperson P Subramaniam on Thursday to discuss this issue. BSES and TPC are already engaged in several suits filed before the MERC on issues relating to standby charges and fuel adjustment costs leviable upon BSES by TPC.

TPC feels that if these issues were to be settled by the MERC, the tariff revision proposal could be more clearly defined by it, since otherwise, it would have to provide for the costs arising as a fallout of the orders issued by MERC.

Meanwhile, according to the BSES TRP submitted to the MERC, the utility is seeking to pass on the standby charges and additional standby charges (it pays to TPC) upon its 22 lakh (2.2 million) consumers as a one-time surcharge and additional surcharge on all the 6166 MUs of power its supplies per month for a period of 12 months.

"BSES also request the MERC to allow recovery of agreed standby charges [Rs 28 crore (Rs 280 million)] for Rs 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) per month from August 2003 to March 2004 and further additional standby charges to be paid (if any) after July 2003 through additional surcharge," the BSES TRP states. BSES also informed the MERC that it was unable to meet its aggregate revenue requirement since fiscal 2002.

"This shortfall in ARR is primarily on account of rebates extended by BSES to consumers in the commercial and industrial category due to illegal and unauthorised distribution in BSES' areas of supply by TPC.

TPC commenced supply of electricity to BSES from 1998 at tariffs significantly lower than those offered by BSES. BSES responded to this by extending tariff rebates to its existing consumers. The cumulative rebate extended up to March 2003 is Rs 251 crore (Rs 2.51 billion)," BSES says.

According to BSES, despite the rebates, 548 of its industrial and commercial consumers were lured by TPC and the cumulative loss of revenue on account of this worked out to Rs 88 crore (Rs 880 million) up to 2003.

"Thus the total loss to BSES on account of the rebates of Rs 251 crore (Rs 2.51 billion), loss in contribution of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) and Rs 34 crore (Rs 340 million) interest aggregates to Rs 305 crore (Rs 3.05 billion). That apart, TPC has commenced supply of electricity to nearly 17,000 potential BSES' consumers, including those in the residential category, causing additional loss of Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) annually to BSES," the BSES TRP says.

BSES has prayed to the MERC to direct TPC to pay for the Rs 305 crore loss of revenue in the previous years to BSES and cumulative shortfall of Rs 72 crore (Rs 720 million) for the years before that.

It has also sought directions to TPC to return to BSES all consumers lured away since February 1998 as well as order an audit into the investments made by TPC in assets and businesses other than electricity generation.

It has also mooted an audit into TPC's investments in infrastructure which have not benefited BSES' existing consumers so as to arrive at actual cost of supply to BSES.