CASE NO. 1 AND CASE NO. 2 of 1997
ORDER NO. 005, DATED 31st MARCH, 1997

Shri Somnath Som, Chairman
Shri A.R.Mohanty, Member
Shri D.K.Roy, Member

In the matter of application by M/s. Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited (GRIDCO) Janpath Bhubaneswar - 751 007 for Bulk Supply, Transmission and Retail Supply & Distribution Licences.

M/s. Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd. (GRIDCO) - Petitioner

Objectors:
1. Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (UCCI)
2. Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)
3. Orissa Small Scale Industries Association (OSSIA)

For the petitioner:
1. Director (Corporate Planning& Corporate Relations) Gridco
2. Director (Commerce) Gridco
3. Director (Finance) Gridco
4. Superintending Engineer(Com) Gridco

For the objectors:
Shri G.S.P.Sinha } For Objector No. 1
Shri M.V.Rao }

Shri B.K.Patnaik } For Objector No. 2
Shri S.Satpathy }

Shri B.K.Mohapatra } For Objector No. 3

Present for State Government:
Sri B. Mishra,
OSD-cum-Dy. Secretary to Govt., Deptt. of Energy, Bhubaneswar.

These are three petitions filed by Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited (for short GRIDCO) seeking licence for Bulk Supply, Transmission and Retail Supply & Distribution business for transmission and supply of electricity to different type of consumers in Orissa. The hearing was taken by all the three Members including Shri S.Som, Chairman In the meantime, Shri Som has left the Commission and hence the order is being passed by the remaining two Members of the Commission.

2. Before going into the issues which have been raised before us facts of this case can be briefly stated.

3. Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited is a Government Company within the meaning of Companies Act 1956, incorporated on 20.4.95. Shares of GRIDCO are entirely held by Govt. of Orissa, who are the owners of this company. Govt of Orissa have undertaken a process of reform in the Electricity Sector in the State and in pursuance of that objective, Orissa Legislative Assembly has passed Orissa Electricity Reform Act, 1995 (Act 2 of 1996) which was brought into force on 1st Day of April, 1996 after having received the assent of the President of India. Section 14 of the Act lays down that no person, other than those authorised to do so by licence or by virtue of exemption under this Act or authorised or exempted by any other authority under the Electricity (Supply) Act of 1948 shall engage in the State in the business of (a) transmitting or (b) supplying electricity. Sub-section (4) of this Section provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the other provisions of this Act, until the establishment of the Commission in terms of Section 3, the State Government shall, for a period of six months from the date this Act coming into force, have the power to grant provisional licences under the section having a duration not exceeding twelve months to any person or persons to engage in the State in the business of transmission or supply of electricity, on such terms and conditions as the State Government may determine consistent with the Provisions of this Act, subject however to two conditions. Firstly, it is laid down that upon the establishment of the Commission, each of the provisional licences so granted shall be placed before the Commission and shall be deemed to constitute an application for grant of a licence by the Commission under the provisions of this Act. Secondly, it is provided that each provisional licence granted under this section shall cease to be valid and effective on the date on which the decision of the Commission on the application is communicated.

4. In accordance with sub-section (4) of Section 14, State Government granted on 30^th March, 1996 the following three provisional licences to the Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd. with effect from 1st April, 1996, (i) The Orissa Provisional Supply Licence (Bulk Supply) 1996. (1/1996), (ii) The Orissa Provisional Transmission Licence, 1996, (1/1996), (iii) The Orissa Provisional Supply Licence (Retail Supply & Distribution 1996 (1/1996). These three provisional licences were issued on terms and conditions indicated in the licences. It was laid down that these provisional licences shall cease to be valid and effective on completion of twelve months from the date of enforcement which is 1st April, 1996 or on the date decision of the Commission on the applications of GRIDCO seeking licences is communicated to the licensee whichever is earlier. For each provisional licences the area was mentioned as the State of Orissa.

5. In pursuance of sub-section (4) of Section 14 of the Act, upon establishment of the Commission, GRIDCO in their letter No. 4590 dt.28.08.96 sent the provisional Bulk Supply licence to the Commission. Similarly, in letter No. 293 dt.29.08.96 the provisional transmission licence was submitted to the Commission. The provisional Distribution & Retail Supply licence was submitted to the Commission in GRIDCO letter No.4616 aft. 29.08.96. Accordingly, these three provisional licences on being submitted to the Commission have been treated as applications for fresh licences.

6. Sub-section (2) of Section 15 of the Act provides that any person applying for a licence shall publish a notice of his application in such manner, and with such particulars as may be prescribed by the Commission within fourteen days after making the application. It is also laid down that the Commission shall not grant a licence until all objections received within three months from the date of publication relating to the application of the licence have been considered by the Commission and No Objection has been obtained from the Central Government in the case of an application for a licence to supply or transmit electricity in an area which includes the whole or any part of any cantonment, aerodrome, fortress, arsenal, dockyard or camp or of any building or place in the occupation of the Central Government for defence purposes. It has been further, provided that where an objection is received from any local authority concerned, the Commission shall, if in its opinion the objection is insufficient, record in writing and communicate to such local authority its reasons for such opinion.

7. On receipt of the three applications for licence for Bulk Supply, Transmission and Distribution & Retail Supply, GRIDCO was instructed on 7th September, 1996 to give notice of its application by publishing a notice in one English daily and in one Oriya daily Newspaper. Accordingly, notice was published in "Sun Times" and "The Samaj" on 08.10.96 and 09.10.96, respectively inviting objections to grant of such licences to GRIDCO. GRIDCO was also instructed in the same order to give notice of their applications for grant of three licences to the Central Government, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Energy and the Central Electricity Authority in accordance with sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 15 of the Act.

8. In response to the above direction, GRIDCO in their letter No. 1133 dt.06.02.97 has submitted to the Commission that Gridco does not make any distribution or supply of energy inside the area of any cantonment, aerodrome, fortress, arsenal, dockyard or camp or of any building or place in the occupation of the Central Government for defence purposes. In view of this, Gridco has submitted that obtaining No Objection Certificate from Central Government under sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 15 may not be necessary in this case. In view of the specific assertion of the applicant that transmission and supply of electricity is not intended to be made within the area specified in the above sub-clause (ii) obtaining No Objection Certificate from the Central Govt. is not required in this case.

9. In response to the notice published in "The Samaj" on 9th October, 1996 and in "Sun Times" on 8th of October, 1996, M/s. Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (objector No. 1) filed objection to the grant of licence in their letter No. 1774 dt.02.01.97 to the Commission. Objector No.1 was instructed on 6th of January, 1997 to submit their objection in four copies and have one more copy served on M/s. GRIDCO and to file proof of such service in the office of the Commission. In response to that objector No.1 filed further objection in their letter No. 1803 dt. 08.01.97 praying that his objection petition dt.08.01.97 should be treated as amendment to their earlier objection petition dt.02.01.97. They wanted to be heard in person in respect of both the objections. Copies of the objection petitions were also served on Gridco by the objector.

10. M/s. Confederation of Indian Industries (objector No.2) filed their objection petition in their letter dt.08.01.97. They were also instructed in Commission's letter dt.10.01.97 to serve copy of the objection petition on Gridco and file proof of such service. Accordingly, proof of service of the objection petition of Gridco was filed by objector No.2 in their letter dt.10.01.97.

11. The third objection dt.07.01.97 from M/s. Orissa Small Scale Industries Association (objector No.3) was received in Commission office on 13.01.97 after the three months period for filing objection was over. Copy of this objection petition was also sent to Gridco by objector No.3.

12. Commission published notice in the "Sun Times" on 29.12.96 and 30.12.96 in "Dharitri" on 02.01.97 & 03.01.97 intimating the general public that the applications made by Gridco will be considered by the Commission through public hearing on 15.01.97 at 11 A.M. in the office of the Commission. It was also indicated in the notice that subsequent date of hearing after 15.01.97 will be declared by the Commission in course of the public hearing on 15.01.97 and objections filed by 9th of January will also be taken up for consideration in the public hearing.

13. Accordingly, the application of Gridco and the objections referred to earlier were taken up for hearing on 15.01.97. In the office of the Commission two draft licences, one dealing with transmission and bulk supply and the other with distribution and retail supply were prepared and sent to Gridco in Commission's letter No. 44 dt.08.01.97 and letter No. 76 dt. 10.01.97 calling upon Gridco to submit their views on the provisions in the draft licence. In course of the hearing on the 15th January, 1997 copies of these two draft licences were supplied to the three objectors. The applicant, GRIDCO was allowed time till 22nd January,1997 to give their suggestions for amendments to the draft licences. It was also ordered that Gridco should supply copy of their submissions to the objectors. The three objectors were heard in support of their objection petitions. They wanted to submit further objections after perusal of the draft licences. They were given time to submit such objections by 22nd of January, 1997 with copy to Gridco. Similarly, Gridco was ordered to file replies to these objections to the Commission by 31st of January, 1997. Accordingly, further objections have been filed by Gridco and objectors with copies to each other. In the hearing on 4th February, 1997 representatives of Gridco and the objectors were heard at length on different points made in their objection petitions. Six other objection petitions filed after due date were ordered to be rejected and were not taken into consideration. The objections made by Gridco on the provisions of two draft licences and the objections made by the three objectors are taken up in subsequent paragraphs of this order The draft Transmission and Bulk Supply licence and the objections made by Gridco in relation to that draft are taken up first.

14. The first objection of Gridco is, in relation to the definition of Area of Transmission and Supply, which has been defined as the area referred to in Schedule-I to the draft licence. It has been mentioned that area of transmission and supply shall be the State of Orissa. Gridco has pointed out that condition 5.1 prohibits Gridco from owning, holding any beneficial interest in or operating any generating set or other sources of production of power in the area of supply other than in pursuance of this licence. Submission of Gridco is that it has some share in the central sector generation and central sector transmission systems which are owned and operated by Central generation/transmission companies. Thus, Gridco is participating in exchange of power through its relationship with such central generation and transmission systems. Gridco has suggested that the Bulk Supply licence should permit Gridco to continue to participate in the above exchange of power to the extent such exchange of power is decided at Eastern Regional Electricity Board level. We have heard the representative of Gridco on this point. It is noted that such exchange of power takes place in the inter-state tie lines after necessary adjustment are made in the meter reading taken at both ends of the line. So far as Gridco is concerned, such exchanges take place at the state boundary and therefore, it is not necessary to extend the Area of Licence beyond the state boundary. In any case, the Commission being a creature of Orissa Electricity Reform Act, 1995 which applies only within the State of Orissa has no power beyond the boundaries of the State. Limiting the area of supply to the boundaries of the State does not in any way prohibit Gridco for participating in the exchange of power arrangement with Central generating and transmission system. As such this contention is without any merit and rejected.

15. The second objection of Gridco is about the definition of Bulk Supply. Bulk supply has been defined in the draft licence as provision of electricity to a licensee for resale. This definition follows the definition of "Bulk Licensee" in the Supply Act of 1948 which defines " Bulk Licensee " as a licensee who is authorised by the licence to supply electricity to other licensees for distribution by them. In this objection, Gridco has pointed out that there are certain industries in the State with their own Captive Power Plants. These industries have standing arrangements with Gridco for drawal of back up power in case of necessity. Conversely there are also arrangements for supply of power by them to the grid; some times power flows inadvertently to the grid from such Captive Power Plants. Gridco in their objection petition has suggested that definition of Bulk Supply should be changed to cover such supply of power by the Captive Power Plants of these industries to the grid. Arrangements with Captive Power Plants referred to above have obviously be done in keeping with the Govt. policy in this regard. Moreover, under Section 14 of the Reform Act, a licence is required for engaging in the State in the business of supplying electricity. Inadvertent flow of power from the Captive Power Plants to the grid and occasional power supply by the industries from their Captive Power Plants to the grid are not supplies in course of regular business. Captive Power Plants of such industries are meant for supplying power to their own units. As such no amendment to the definition of "Bulk Supply" is required and this contention is, therefore, rejected.

16. The third objection of Gridco is about definition of "Distribution System". It has been submitted that some of the major consumers are connected at 132 KV or higher voltage levels. In the draft licence, Distribution System has been defined as cable, service lines, etc. having design voltage of 33 KV and under. But in the last sentence of the definition of "Distribution System", it is laid down that the Distribution System shall not include any part of Transmission System, except where used for the Supply of electricity to a single consumer or group of consumers. In other words, the definition covers part of transmission system at a design voltage above 33 KV when such system is utilised for supplying electricity to consumers. As such this objection has already been taken care of and no change is required. This objection is, therefore, not valid and rejected.

17. The fourth objection of Gridco is regarding definition of "Transmission System". It has been submitted that the proposed definition of Transmission System includes 66 KV or higher voltage system and does not include any system below 66 KV. It has been suggested that 33 KV bays at EHV sub-stations form a part of transmission system and should be included in the definition. This objection is valid, because 33 KV bays of a EHV sub-station are included in the transmission system, whereas 33 KV feeder lines are included in the distribution system. In consideration of this objection, it is ordered that in the definition of "Transmission System" in the draft licence after the word "including" the following words may be added "33/11 KV bays/equipments upto the interconnection with the distribution system,".

18. The fifth objection of Gridco is regarding the prohibition in Clause (a) of para 5.1 of the draft licence. It has been submitted by Gridco that this clause should be suitably modified to authorise sale of power by Gridco to the Central Generation and Transmission Systems, as also sharing of power through intra- regional and inter regional exchange through Eastern Regional Electricity Board. In consideration of this objection, it is ordered that the following words should be added after the words "ancillary services" "and sale of power surplus to the need of the State, to other Electricity Boards/Licensees with prior approval of the Commission; or".

19. The sixth objection of Gridco relates to clause 4.1 of the draft licence which lays down that licensee shall comply with, adhere to and obey the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission's Regulations and Directions as may be issued by the Commission from time to time. Gridco has suggested incorporation of words "as per Orissa Electricity Reform Act, 1995." In other words, Gridco's suggestion is for providing that only Regulations, Directions of the Commission in conformity of the Act of 1995 should be complied with by Gridco. This amendment is considered unnecessary for the following reasons. Regulations are statutory in nature and have to be in conformity with the Act. Directions issued by the Commission have also to be in accordance with the Act. Any direction which is not in conformity with the Act is also not binding on Gridco. In consideration of the above, this objection is rejected and it is ordered that in this clause after the words "directions" the words "and orders" should be included.

20. The seventh objection of Gridco is with regard to Conditions 6 and 7 of the draft licence. These two Conditions are taken up separately, even though Gridco has made one combined submission. As regards Conditon 6, it provides that in carrying on each Separate Business, the licensee shall not give or receive any subsidy from any other Separate Business or from any other business of the licensee or any affiliate of the licensee without prior permission of the Commission. It has been submitted by Gridco that their Separate Businesses of Bulk Supply, Transmission and Distribution & Retail Supply are all worked together financially as also in the matter of writing of accounts and, therefore, granting of subsidy from one business to another business is inherent in the current nature of operating these Separate Businesses and any other business together, The Commission has considered this matter very carefully and has heard the representative of Gridco at length. In course of the hearing on 15th of January, 1997, the Director (Finance) of Gridco also made oral submissions on this point which, however, were not followed up by any written objection. Before considering the matter, further, it is necessary to note the difference between Separate Business and Any Other Business. Separate Business covers Bulk Supply, Transmission and thirdly, Distribution & Retail Supply. Any Other Business would mean any type of activity which should not be incidental to the above three types of business. Providing subsidy from one Separate Business to another or to Any Other Business is not prohibited in the license. It has only been laid down that such provision of subsidy can he made only with prior permission of the Commission. It is expected that after some years Distribution & Retail Supply Divisions will be privatised and will go out of Gridco and therefore, subsidization of one business from another business is not desirable from the long term point of view. In the interim period it has only been provided that such subsidy can be provided only with prior permission of the Commission. Where provision of such subsidy is necessary and essential, Commission will no doubt allow such provision in the larger interest of the licensee. As such, there is no need for any change in this Condition 6 and this contention is rejected on the above ground.

21. Next item to which objection has been taken is Condition 7 which provides that the licensee should keep separate accounts for each separate business of Bulk Supply, Transmission and Distribution & Retail Supply. Gridco has stated that only after appropriate restructuring of their Finance Division, separate accounts as above could be maintained. For the present, they require three years time for separating the accounts and maintaining those separately. In this connection, the Commission noted that even today the distribution circles dealing with Distribution & Retail Supply business are different from EHT Circles which deal with Bulk Supply and Transmission. Even EHT Construction Circles have been separated from EHT Maintenance Circles. Obviously, the accounts of each circle are maintained separately at the circle level and possibly at the time of compilation at the Head Office, these accounts are merged together. As such, the Commission feels that there would not be much difficulty for the licensee to maintain separate accounts for separate business and, therefore, it is decided that this Condition No. 7 does not require any change. The Commission would, however, like to go on record to say that it may not be possible for the licensee to achieve 100 per cent separation of accounts right in the year 1997-98. But, if substantial separation of accounts is achieved during that year then that will be considered as adequate compliance with this provision in the draft licence. This objection is, therefore, rejected subject to above observation.

22. The eighth objection of Gridco is with regard to Condition 16 of an earlier draft licence dated 26.11.96 which was sent to Gridco in Commission's letter No. 899 dt.04.12.96. This Condition in the present draft licence dt.09.01.97 under consideration has been renumbered as Condition 21. The submission of Gridco is that Bulk Supply and Transmission Licences should be merged together. The office of the Commission has already done this and this objection is, therefore, accepted.

23. The last objection of Gridco relates to Condition No.17 of the earlier draft licence dtd.26.11.96 sent to Gridco in Commission's letter No. 899 dt.04.12.96 referred to earlier. Gridco has pointed out that in view of the integrated operation with the Regional Grid, it will be difficult for Gridco to make Power Supply Planning, Security and Operating Standards as these will be dependent to some extent upon the performance of the Regional Grid as a whole. This Condition No. 17 has been changed to Condition No.20 in the draft licence under consideration. In the present Paragraph 20.6, it has been provided that the licensee shall not be considered in breach of the requirements of supplying adequate power and to make acceptable planning and security standards and operating standards, if for reasons accepted by the Commission, the licensee has been unable to provide sufficient power. This Paragraph 20.6, therefore, makes adequate provision for circumstances beyond the control of the licensee, which might prevent him from maintaining the operating, security and supplying standards. As such, there is no need for any change in Condition 20 and this contention is, therefore, rejected.

24. With the above observations, we have considered the objections made by Gridco to the draft Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence. Subsequently, in their letter dated 30.01.97 Gridco has sent another set of six objections to the draft Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence and these are now taken up.

25. Objection No. 1 deals with definition of Separate Business. Gridco has pointed out that as one licence is proposed to be given for Transmission and Bulk Supply business, the business of Transmission and Bulk Supply should be taken as one business and not two separate businesses. We have considered the submission of Gridco, carefully. It is no doubt correct that it is proposed to issue one licence for the business of Transmission and  Bulk Supply. But, the nature of activity in Bulk Supply and Transmission are entirely different. The licence also provides for privatisation of Bulk Supply at some future time whereas, Transmission being a natural monopoly shall be continued with Gridco. From the above, it would be clear that Bulk Supply and Transmission are two separate business and this submission of Gridco is, therefore, rejected.

26. Second objection of Gridco is regarding definition of "Transmission System" and the third objection is regarding maintaining separate accounts for separate business as provided in Paragraph 7.2 (a). These two objections have already been dealt with earlier.

27. The fourth objection of Gridco is with regard to paragraph 7.2 which requires the licensee to deliver to the Commission a copy of the interim Profit & Loss Account within one month of the end of the period to which it relates and a copy of Accounting Statement and Auditor's Report for a year not later than three months after the end of the concerned Financial Year. Gridco has pointed out that according to the Companies Act, 1956, Gridco is required to submit accounts within six months from the close of financial year and the interim Profit & Loss Account may be allowed to be submitted within 3 months of the end of the corresponding period. In consideration of the provision in the Companies Act, it is ordered that period of one month and three months mentioned in para 7.2 (d) may be changed to three months and six months respectively.

28. The fifth objection of Gridco is about Grid Code. Paragraph 17.2 provides that where no Grid Code is available the licensee shall submit proposed Grid Code within one month. It has been pointed out by Gridco that preparation of Grid Code will take time and Gridco will submit as an interim arrangement, a set of Operating Procedures, which will constitute the operating Grid Code till the proper Grid Code could be formulated and submitted to the Commission. The Commission is appreciative of the fact that preparation of the proper Grid Code will take time, but at the same time the operation of the system can not be without a set of fixed rules and procedure. In consideration of the above Paragraph 17.2 is ordered to be re-drafted as follows:

1. within one month or such other time as the Commission may allow from the commencement of this licence the Licensee submits an Operating Grid Code to the Commission;

2. the Licensee shall implement and comply with the Operating Grid Code from the date of its submission to the Commission;

3. within six months of the commencement of the licence, the licensee shall submit a comprehensive Grid Code (as referred in Para 17.1 above) which must be formulated after consultation with the electricity operators and other affected interested groups to the extent possible;

4. the licensee shall be obliged to implement the aforesaid Grid Code in accordance with the amendment/approval of the same by the Commission "

29. The last objection of Gridco is with regard to Paragraph 21.7 which requires the Gridco to ensure that all amounts due to other Electricity Operators in respect of the electricity generated or supplied or other goods or services provided by them pursuant to their authorised activity shall be paid promptly. The suggestions of Gridco is for watering down this condition by providing that Gridco shall make all endeavours to pay promptly for energy and supply and services received by him. It is not necessary to make this proposed change and this objection is rejected.

30. Having, considered all the objections made by Gridco with regard to draft Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence, we now take up the objections made by Gridco to the draft Distribution & Retail Supply Licence.

31. Gridco has raised sixteen objections, out of which objections 1, 2, 4, 5 and 15 have already been considered and decided. These objections are mentioned for the purpose of record. Objection No. 1 is with regard to definition of "Distribution System" Objection No. 2 is with regard to loan from one business to another business. We have considered the same point with regard to subsidy from one business to another business. Objection No. 4 relates to Separation of Accounts of Separate Business. Objection No. 5 asks for six months time for submission of Annual Accounts which already been agreed to. For submission of interim profit & loss account, the draft licence provides one month time. Gridco has asked for three months. This is agreed to. Objection No. 15 relates to making prompt payment for goods and services and this has already been considered and rejected. The other objections are taken up serially.

32. Objection No. 3 relates to para 5.4. This lays down that the licensee shall not create or permit to subsist any encumbrance in favour of any other person over any of the licensee's assets for the purpose of securing any obligation of any other person or of the licensee. Gridco has pointed out that assets of Gridco are already mortgaged to L.I.C. and other financial institutions to raise funds. Such mortgage will continue and fresh mortgage for drawal of funds may have to be made. In consideration of the above, it is ordered that in this clause at the end the following words may be added "in relation to any non-core activity". This objection is, therefore, allowed.

33. Objection No. 6 relates to para 10.5, where the term "Disposal" has been defined to include mortgage. For reasons indicated in the preceding para, Gridco wants that words "mortgage, charge or the grant of any other encumbrance or the permitting of any encumbrance to subsist" may be deleted This is not correct because under this clause mortgage or etc. are not prohibited, but can only be made with the permission of the Commission, in case, the value of the assets to be mortgaged is in excess of Rs.30 lakh. As such this objection is rejected.

34. In objection No. 7, Gridco has pointed out that 1st April being a holiday in the State, they should be allowed to pay the licence fee by 30th April of each year. In consideration of the objection the date 1st of April in para 11.2 is changed to 10th of April.

35. In objection No. 8, Gridco has pointed out a typographical mistake in para 13.3, where instead of Schedule VI what has been printed is Schedule V. The objection is valid. The draft licence may be corrected, accordingly.

36. In objection No. 9, Gridco has pointed out that para 15.2 (b) makes reference to the objectives referred to in paragraph 15.1, even though, no objectives have been mentioned in paragraph 15.1. The objection is valid and there has been an editorial mistake. The reference to paragraph 15.1 may be amended as paragraph 15.4 which contains the objectives of the Distribution Code.

37. In objection No. 10, in para 15.5, Gridco has suggested that words "introduced on 31.12.96" may be deleted. This is accepted and it is ordered, accordingly.

38. Objection Nos. 11 and 12 are taken up together. Under objection No. 11, Gridco has suggested that in para 17.2, the period of three months given for submission of Planning and Security Standards and Operating Standards may be increased to six months. In objection No. 12, they have suggested that in Condition 21 the words "Customer Service" which has been defined may be replaced by the words "Consumer Service". These two objections are allowed and the draft licence is ordered to be corrected, accordingly.

39. In objection No. 13, Gridco has suggested that the time of three months allowed for submission of "Consumers Rights Statement" in Paragraph 21.3, be changed to six months. Now, that Gridco is functioning as a commercial organisation, it is necessary that the customers of Gridco know their rights fully. It should not be difficult for Gridco to make out a provisional statement indicating the rights of consumers. Preparing that statement will not take time and therefore, the three months period is allowed to stand. In case, Gridco finds any genuine difficulty in preparing the Consumers Rights Statement within three months, the Commission can always be approached for further time.

40. In objection No. 14, Gridco has suggested that a provision should be made in the licence for the existing tariff to continue till a modified tariff comes into force. This is agreed to and an appropriate clause may be included in para 22 of the draft licence.

41. The last objection is about a typographical mistake in Schedule I of the draft licence. The area of supply has not been mentioned. This may be done as in the draft Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence.

42. With the above words, we have considered all the objections made by Gridco with regard to different provisions of the two draft licences. We will now, take up the objections made by the three objectors reference to which has been made earlier. The objections made by M/s. Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Objector No. 1) are taken up first.

43. As mentioned earlier M/s. Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry submitted three written objections dated 2.1.97, 8.1.97 and 22.1.97. On comparison of the three objection petitions it is noted that all the petitions made by objector No. 1 in their petition dated 2.1.97 and 8.1.97 have been again reiterated by them in their petition dated 22 1.97 except one point mentioned in para 1 of objection petition dated 8.1.97. It will, therefore, be convenient to take up this objection first and thereafter take up the different objections mentioned in objection petition dated 22.1.97.

44. In para 1 of objection petition dated 8.1.97, objector No.1 has stated that as in the case of the provisional licence, it is apprehended by him that in the process of granting licence to Gridco, tariff will be increased, even though, Gridco has taken no steps improving supply and distribution system. This apprehension is obviously without any foundation because granting of licence is considered in proceeding under Section 15 of the Act, whereas fixations of tariff under the Act has to be done under Section 26. These two proceedings are quite separate and independent and, therefore, objector No. 1 has no logical basis of his apprehension that in course of licence process, Gridco's tariff will be increased. This contention is, therefore, rejected. It is important to note here that because of this misapprehension, objector No. 1 in his objection petition dated 22.1.97 has raised a large number of objection which relate to tariff matters and General Conditions of Supply and not to the licence. Besides these points which will he referred to in the subsequent paragraphs, objector No. 1 has made specific objections to different Conditions of draft Distribution and Retail Supply Licence. This will also be considered in the subsequent paragraphs.

45. Taking up the general objections, it would be worthwhile to note that the following objections relate to matters which pertains to the period prior to the constitution of the Commission. It is understood that these matters have been challenged in the writ petitions before the Hon'ble High Court. As such, Commission can have nothing to say on those matters besides making a record of the objections. Legality or otherwise of all these matters will depend upon the decision of the Hon'ble High Court on those writ petitions. The objections which fall in this category are mentioned below:

1. The Provisional Licence granted by the State Government to GRIDCO vide Notification dtd.30.03.96 is invalid and illegal.

2. GRIDCO has enhanced the tariff on 13.05.96 which is illegal.

3. Demand charges have been doubled in the latest tariff revision.

46. Besides the three objections mentioned above which are before the Hon'ble High Court, objector No. 1 has made twenty three other objections which broadly relate to two things, i.e. (a) tariff and (b) General Conditions of Supply, Codes and Standards. The following eight general objections relate to tariff:

4. The method of charging minimum charges on account of power cut on hourly basis' or on demand basis or on energy basis as provided in the GRIDCO Regulations is to be changed.

5. The method of charging power factor penalty as per Regulations is to be changed.

6. The minimum charges for Power Intensive Industries are to be collected on the basis of 40% load factor as the tariff of power Intensive Industries, heavy industries and large industries are same

7. Delayed Payment Surcharge should be adjusted against the Security Deposit.

8. Industrial Consumers should be consulted before any proposal for increase in tariff is given and the tariff should be frozen for a minimum period of one year.

9. Two-part tariff should be made applicable for a load of 500 KW upwards.

10. Gridco should not charge minimum charges on the basis of connected load basis but charge actual consumption charges.

11. Tariff of GRIDCO should be on the cost basis to different consumers and no cross subsidy should be provided."

47. The following fifteen general objections relates to General Conditions of Supply, Codes and Standards:

12. General conditions Supply of OSEB which is being followed by GRIDCO is illegal and objectionable on several counts.

13. Fluctuations of voltage and frequency should be as per I.E. Rules, 1956.

14. Diversity factor of transformers installed in Industrial Estates should not be more than 1.4 so that adequate upgradation of transformer is done in time without giving additional loads on existing transformers.

15. Distribution system in Industrial Estates should be modernised so as not to affect break-down in all Industries at one time.

16. Interest shall be paid on Security Deposit collected from the Consumers.

17. Replacement of defective meters should be done within one month.

18. Termination of Agreement by 6 (six) months notice from either side should be introduced.

19. If production is stopped by causes beyond control of entrepreneur, minimum charges should not be charged if due notice of 15 days is given.

20. Security Deposit should be collected from Power Intensive Industries on the basis of average of previous 12 months consumption charges.

21. Security Deposit should be accepted through Cheques. In case of Demand Draft the Commission charges are to be borne by GRIDCO.

22. Power Intensive Industries should be compensated if there is total power failure exceeding 12 hours at a stretch.

23. The consumer shall be permitted either to reduce, increase contract demand with one month prior notice.

24. Purchase of power from 3rd party should be allowed to be wheeled through GRIDCO system after payment of wheeling charges.

25. Industries below 100 KW should sign contracts estimating their maximum demand and not on the basis of connected load.

26. Compensation should be paid for loss or damage to the equipments or production because of non-maintenance of GRID discipline inside statutory limit. "

In the draft Distribution & Retail Supply Licence, it has been provided under para 15.5 that licensee will continue to comply with OSEB General Conditions of Supply Regulation, 1995 till the same will be replaced by the Distribution Code. Draft licence para 15.4 lays down the matter which will be covered in the Distribution Code. Sections 33 and 34 of the Reform Act also provides that the Commission, after consultation with the holders of licence, Commission Advisory Committee and other persons or bodies, representative of persons likely to be affected by the standards of overall performances and supply of Gridco shall lay down the standards in the Distribution Code which is to be approved by the Commission. These objections relating to General Conditions of Supply, can be taken up at the time of approval of Distribution Code if these objection are raised at that time. In the licence proceedings, these details cannot be considered because these cannot find place in the licence. Therefore, these fifteen objections are also rejected.

48. We, now, come to the specific objections raised by objector No. 1, with regard to different clauses of the draft Distribution & Retail Supply Licence.

49. Objections relating to draft paras 15.1, 15.2, 15.5 and 15.7 are regarding formulation of Distribution Code by the licensee. Objector No. 1 has suggested that General Conditions of Supply should be prepared in consultation with Electricity Consumer's Forum and authorized operators. It has also been suggested that Distribution Code should be prepared in consultation with the above persons. As earlier mentioned, sub-section (1) of Section 33 and Section 34 provides such consultation by the Commission before framing Regulations prescribing customers rights, overall performances, connection conditions, etc. which are matter to be covered under the Distribution Code. Therefore, under the existing, provisions in the draft licence read with the statutes, this objection has been fully taken care of. There will be consultation with the affected parties before the Distribution Code is approved by the Commission. On the above ground; there is no need for making any change in these paras of the licence.

50. The next set of objections of objector No. 1 relates to paragraphs 17.3, 17.4, 17.5, 17.6 and 17.7 of the draft Distribution & Retail Supply Licence. The suggestion of the objector is that before the Commission approves licensee's proposal for planning and security standards and operating standards consultation should be made with electricity consumers and authorised electricity operators. It has also been suggested that these standards and licensee's policies on spare parts should be made available to the electricity operators on demand.

51. As stated earlier, these matters will be decided by the Commission as per provisions under Section 33 and Section 34 of the Reform Act which provide for consultation with affected persons or representatives of affected person. Therefore, the objection with regard to these Clauses have been fully met in accordance with the provisions of the Act. It has also been provided in the licence that Distribution Code will be made available to persons on demand and these matters will be part of the Distribution Code and therefore the second objection under this petition is met. It is not clear as to why Gridco's policy on spare parts would be relevant to the electricity consumers. In any case at present, there is no such policy. If and when such policies are formulated by Gridco and if it is established before the Commission by any person or persons that the policy is relevant to such persons then the Commission will no doubt order for supply of copy of such policy to such persons on such terms and conditions including conditions of payment of copying charges which the Commission considers adequate. This objection is, therefore disposed off, accordingly.

52. Next set of objections relate to paragraphs No. 18.1 and 18.2. It has been submitted that information to be supplied to the Commission by the licensee under these two clauses should be made available to the consumers on demand. As a matter of fact, under Section 29 of the Electricity Supply Act, 1948, which continues to be in force and has not been repealed, the licensee will have to invite objections after publication in the Official Gazette and in local Newspapers and as such, there will be adequate notice to all. It is, therefore, not necessary to make any change in these conditions. These objections are, therefore rejected. A reference should, however, be made in Paragraph No. 18.2 relating, to Section 29 of the Electricity Supply Act, 1948.

53. The next objection relates to draft paragraph 19.3 (c). Condition 19 relates to the obligations of the licensee to connect consumers. Para 19.3 provides the exception to the general obligations of the licensee to provide connection to all applicants with the licensees Distribution System. In this paragraph, it has been laid down under sub-paragraph (c) that licensee shall not be required to provide connection where it is not economically, financially or technically feasible for the connection to be given. The suggestions of objector No. 1 is for making specific provision in the licence itself as to the conditions under which it will be considered that giving connection applied for, is not economically, financially or technically feasible. We have discussed this matter at length with the objectors and the representative of Gridco during hearing. We had pointed out that no such norms can be fixed apriori because circumstances of supply will vary from person to person. It would, therefore, not be appropriate to provide in licence that a licensee will have no right/discretion in refusing to connect applicants. In case of refusal of the licensee to connect an applicant to its distribution system, the applicant can come up to the Commission and at that time, the Commission would see whether the refusal would come under any of the Clauses mentioned under pare 19.3. But, no such norms can be insisted in advance and, therefore, no change in this condition would be called for. The objection, is, therefore, rejected.

54. The next objection relates to para 20.1 which deals with application of the licensee to provide safe, economical and reliable supply of electricity, except, in case of discontinuance under Section 24 of the Indian Electricity Act, 1910 and in accordance with the Code of Practice or where statutory power cut is imposed by State Govt. The objection is that in case of failure of the licensee to ensure safe, economical and reliable supply, penalty should be imposed and such penalty should be specified in the licence. Under Section 31 of the Act, Commission is entitled to impose fines on the licensee for failure of any of its orders. Penalty can be imposed under Section 41. In case, Commission gives a direction for ensuring safe, economical and reliable supply to any particular area on receipt of complaint and in case inspite of such directions, the licensee fails to comply with the direction without reasonable causes, then separate penalty or fine will have to be imposed. This will be a Commission proceeding and quantum of fine or penalty will depend upon the stand of different parties in this proceeding. As such, it is not possible to fix the penalty in advance and mention this in the licence. It is, however, be mentioned in a separate clause in the licence that the licensee shall be liable to be proceeded under Section 41 of the Act for contravention of any of the provisions of the licence. With this observations, this objection is disposed off.

55. The next objection relates to pare 21.1, 21.2 and 21.3. It is has been suggested that the Commission should take into consideration the views of authorised electricity operators and consumers before providing the Code of Practice for payment of bills, complaint handling procedure of Gridco and Consumer Rights Statement, etc. As earlier mentioned, these matters are covered in Sections 33 and 34 of the Act and the persons likely to be affected will be heard by the Commission. These objections have already been taken care of under the provisions of the Act and, therefore, this objection is disposed off.

56. The objector No. 1 has made his next objection on condition No. 22 dealing with basis of charges i.e. tariff. He has made thirteen suggestions as to how tariff should be fixed and has also made a suggestion that before deviation is made from the principles enumerated in the Sections 57 and 57 (a) of the Supply Act, views of electricity consumers should be obtained and considered by the Commission and the existing cross subsidy should be gradually reduced. The Commission hearing on tariff filing by Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited shall be open to public and views of interested parties will be taken into account by the Commission. The draft licence under Condition 8 requires the licensee to phase out existing undue tariff differentials between consumers in a manner approved by the Commission. All these matters shall be considered by the Commission during hearing open to public and/or in consultation with Commission Advisory Committee. In view of above, these suggestions of the Objector No.1 need not be incorporated in the licence.

57. The objections made by M/s. Confederation of Indian Industry (Objector No. 2) are taken up next. They have made four objections with regard to Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence in their letter dated 21.1.97. These objections are considered below

58. The first objection of objector No. 2 relates to introduction of a new paragraph as 15.3 (d). The objector No. 2 has requested to add the new paragraph in the Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence prepared by the Commission. The new paragraph envisages procurement of surplus power from Captive Power Plants installed in the State under an uniform policy by the licensee as well as payment of reasonable charges based on the cost of generation as per the State Government resolution of 30th September, 1993 or any other directives given by the Commission. All power purchases have to be approved by the Commission with a view to ensure that purchase is made in an economic and efficient manner. Hence, Captive Power Plants will also have to be in the same discipline and it will not be proper to give any special preference to Captive Power Plants in this licence. This objection is accordingly rejected.

59. The next objection relates to paragraph 17.3. The objector No. 2 has requested that an amendment in the Clause specifying that the Grid Code shall be revised periodically, but not less than once in six months or when so required by the Commission and it should be implemented after revision of the Grid Code. Paragraph 17.3 of the licence states that licensee in consultation with the electricity operators shall periodically review the Grid Code and its implementation and the licensee shall report to the Commission on the outcome of such review. Paragraph 17.5 specifies that the Commission may issue directions requiring the licensee to revise the Grid Code. Paragraph 17.4 states that all revision to Grid Code shall require approval of the Commission. The proposal for time bound revision once in every six months is neither necessary nor desirable. Therefore, the objection is rejected.

60. The third objection of objector No. 2 relates to paragraph 17.6 (b). He has requested for an amendment to the paragraph 17.6 (b) of the licence stating that an operating code specifying the conditions including fluctuation of Grid Parameters with due compliance to the provision under the IE Rules, 1956 under which the licensee shall operate the licensee's transmission system. In this regard it is noted that the Indian Electricity Rules, 1956 have not been repealed by the Reform Act and therefore are applicable. Therefore, the licensee is bound to maintain the Grid Parameters as stated in the said Rules. Besides that, Paragraph 20.3 of the licence directs the licensee to arrange sufficient electricity to meet power supply planning and security standards and power supply planning operating standards. Therefore, there is no need to go for an amendment to the existing Clause 17.6 (b) of the licence and the objection is rejected.

61. In their next objection, objector No. 2 requested for insertion of a new paragraph under condition 24 of the licence. The proposal involves permitting competition in Bulk Supply as well as in Retail Supply by allowing direct sale of power from Captive and other independent power plants to individual retail consumers. Here, it may be mentioned that in the present circumstances, competition in the Retail Supply is not foreseen in the near future. The condition 24 gives the Commission absolute authority for introduction of competition and make relevant changes in this licence as and when the same is necessary. Therefore, introduction of the proposed new clause is not considered necessary at this stage and this objection is, therefore, rejected.

62. M/s. Confederation of Indian Industry, objector No, 2 has made another four objections with regard to Distribution & Retail Supply Licence. These are considered below.

63. The first objection relates to paragraph 15.1 of draft licence dated 03.01.97. Objector No. 2 had suggested that the Commission may at the time of issue of license or at any time during the continuance of the licence, direct the licensee to prepare and implement the Distribution Code within a period of six months after receiving the Commission's approval. In this regard, it may be noted that the paragraph 15.1 of the draft licence directs the licensee to prepare the Distribution Code within six months of issue of licence accompanied by a plan of implementation for Commission approval. It will not be possible or desirable to implement the Code before it is carefully considered and approved by the Commission and hence implementation within six months will not be meaningful. This objection is, therefore, rejected.

64. Paragraph 17.2 for reasons indicated earlier refers to Indian Electricity Rules, 1956. This clause is not necessary as these relates to rules which are still in force and the licensee is bound to follow this statutory Rules. The objection is, therefore, rejected.

65. Objector No. 2 has requested for insertion of a new paragraph to be called as 20.1 (c). The new Clause envisage that the licensee is obliged to maintain the quality and supply within a reasonable variation as provided under the Indian Electricity Rules, 1956. This is also not considered necessary since Indian Electricity Rules 1956 is in force and the objection is rejected.

66. The new Clause suggested by objector No 2 provides for allowing industrial consumers in the State to avail power supply from Captive Power Plants and other generating units on payment of wheeling charges to GRIDCO and foster competitiveness for the sale of energy inside the State. The draft licence condition No. 24 provides for Introduction of competition in Bulk Supply at a future date. Introduction of competition in Retail Supply would come, if at all, much later. Even in advanced countries like U.K. introduction of competition in Retail Supply has been initiated recently and in a very limited scale. If and when the situation is appropriate in our State for introduction of competition in Retail Supply the Commission could take up the matter and make necessary modification in the licence conditions. For the present, it is not necessary to provide for introduction of competition in Retail Supply. This suggestion is, therefore, rejected.

67. The third objector is M/s. Orissa Small Scale Industries Association (Objector No. 3). Their objection petition dated 07.01.97 was received in the office of the Commission on dated 13.01.97 after the three months period for filing petition was over. It is indicated by the Commission in course of hearing on dated 15.01.97 that at the time of passing final order, the Commission shall order whether this objection, received late, will be taken up for consideration or not. As the Commission have allowed time to the other two objectors to file objections on 21st and 22nd of January, 1997 in fairness the objection by the objector No. 3 on 7th January, 1997 and subsequently on 22nd January, 1997 should be taken into consideration.

68. In their objection petition dated 7th January, 1997, the objector No. 3 has raised four objections and these are also discussed below.

69. Their first objection is with regard to method of determining the installed capacity by adding the horsepower of all machineries/motors. The matter relates to General Conditions of Supply and may not be considered in the licence hearing. The second objection is regarding definition of Small Scale Industry. It has been pointed out that definitions of Small Scale Industry by Gridco and by the Industries Department are different. This is again a matter which is covered under General Conditions of Supply and will be considered at the time of approval of the Distribution Code. The third objection suggests that minimum charges should be determined on the basis of average consumption for a period of 12 months. This objection has also been raised by objector No. 1 and considered earlier. Besides the above, objector No. 3 has also noted that for collection of revenue, Gridco is installing electronic meters which do not bear ISI marks or certificate from a recognised test house. These matters are not to be considered in licence proceedings. This may come up for consideration at the time of approval of the Distribution Code and, therefore, these objections are rejected at this stage.

70. The objector No. 3 in his objection petition dated 22.1.97 has made only one objection, regarding paragraph No 17.3 (b), which requires the licensee to develop and observe a policy on spare parts required. It has been suggested by objector No. 3 that under this Clause the provision should be incorporated that while procuring spare parts, the licensee should give preference to Small Scale Industries as per the Industrial Policy Resolution of the State Govt. and any deviation of the Policy should be made with the permission of the Commission. In this connection, it has to be noted that giving any price preference in the matter of procurement of spare parts has to be a part of the Procurement Policy of spare parts which has to be developed in Gridco. It is, therefore, not necessary to provide this in the licence condition. As and when Gridco develops a Policy of spare parts, Gridco will no doubt take note of the Policy of the State Govt. in this regard. After all Gridco is fully owned by Govt. of Orissa. It is understood that at present Gridco is following the above Govt. Policy. In case, in future they deviate from the Govt. Policy, the affected person can move the Government for enforcement of the Govt. Policy in this regard. It is not necessary to provide this in the licence. With these observations this objection is rejected.

71. With the above observations, we have considered in detail, all objections raised by Gridco to the two draft licences as also the objections raised by the three objectors. Besides the above, in course of hearing and examination of the two draft licences by the Commission, it has been considered necessary to make a few editorial changes.

In the light of above observations, the drafts of the Distribution and Retail Supply Licence and Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence have been amended and the final version as Annexed at A & B respectively are approved.

The Commission orders issue of following two licences to be effective from forenoon of First Day of April, 1997.

1. The Orissa Distribution and Retail Supply Licence, 1997 (1/97)

2. The Orissa Transmission and Bulk Supply Licence, 1997 (2/97)

15.01.97 GRIDCO, the applicant is represented by Director (Corporate Planning and Corporate Relations), director (Commerce), Director (Transmission and Distribution) and S.E. (Commerce). Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (UCCI) is represented by its President and Shri M.V.Rao. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), another objector, is represented by Shri B.K.Patnaik. The State Government is represented by Shri B.Mishra, OSD-cum-Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy, Govt. of Orissa.

Heard the representative of GRIDCO and Shri M.V.Rao of UCCI and Shri B.K.Patnaik, representative of CII. The representatives of GRIDCO suggested certain changes in the conditions of the Draft Licences. GRIDCO should file a petition by 22^nd January, 1997 making these suggestions, with a copy to the objectors UCCI and CII. Heard Shri M.V.Rao in support of the objections made by UCCI in their objection petitions dated 02.01.97 and 08.01.97. GRIDCO will file reply to these objections by 31^st January 1997 with copy to UCCI. Heard Shri B.K.Patnaik of CII who spoke in support of his objection petition dated 08.01.97. GRIDCO will file reply to this objection petition by 31^st January 1997 with copy to CII. The Commission has received another objection petition from Orissa Small Scale Industries Association (OSSIA). This objection petition was received on 13.01.97 after the three months period fixed for filing objection petition was over. The Commission heard the objector Shri B.K.Mohapatra, President of the Association, in support of the contentions raised in the objection petition. A view as to whether the objection petition would be considered or not will be taken at the time of passing final orders in these proceedings. A copy of the objection petition dated 07.01.97 of OSSIA has been handed over to GRIDCO, who will file a reply by 31^st January, 1997 with a copy to OSSIA.

The matter has been posted to 4^th February, 1997 for further hearings.

04.02.97 GRIDCO, the applicant is represented by Director (Corporate Planning and Corporate Relations), director (Commerce), and S.E. (Commerce). Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (UCCI) is represented by its President and Shri M.V.Rao. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), another objector, is represented by its members and Secretary Shri S.Satpathy. The State Government is represented by Shri B.Mishra, OSD-cum-Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy, Govt. of Orissa.

Heard the representatives of GRIDCO and Shri M.V.Rao of UCCI, the representatives of CII and the representative of the Orissa Small Scale Industries Association (OSSIA).

Commission heard an officer of the Commission on different objections raised to draft licences by the applicant and objectors.

Commission has received six objection petitions after the last date of filing petitions was over on 09.01.97. Identical objection petitions from Shrimati Shanti Mohanty, Shri Sandeep Mohanty, Shrimati Swarna Mohanty of Tulsipur, Cuttack have been received on 17.01.97. Objection petition from Shrimati Lotika Patra, Sutahat, Cuttack has been received on 27.01.97 and two identical objection petitions from Janab A.S.Khan and Shrimati Mehrun Nissa Begum, Sutahat, Cuttack have been received on 31.01.97. All these six petitions have been received well after the three months period of filing objection petition was over. These objections are, therefore, not taken into account. Each of these objectors have been informed accordingly by the Secretary of the Commission. Most of their objections relate to General Conditions of Supply and Standards of Performance of GRIDCO. These six objectors have been informed that their objections will be taken note of by the Commission at the time of approving the General Conditions of Supply and the Standards of Performance of GRIDCO.

Hearing in the matter is concluded and it is reserved for orders.

12.03.97 This is with regard to above noted hearing on Gridco's application dated 28.8.96 and 29.8.96 for grant of licence for Transmission, Bulk Supply and Distribution & Retail Supply. After the hearing on 15.01.97 & 04.02.97 the Commission has decided to issue only two licences; namely

1. The Orissa Distribution & Retail Supply Licence, 1997 (No.1/97)

2. The Orissa Transmission & Bulk Supply Licence, 1997 (No.2/97)

as per order placed on record.

In light of facts emerging during hearing and the consultation on clarification from Gridco the Commission has decided to issue the licences with terms and conditions detailed in approved draft format A & B respectively for Distribution & Retail Supply and Transmission & Bulk Supply.

In terms of Clause 90 & 91 of the regulation the Gridco is required to convey their consent regarding acceptance of the licences in the form approved by the Commission. Such acceptance has to be conveyed by Gridco by 19.03.97.

15.03.97 Notice be given to the concerned parties for delivery of orders on the proceedings for licence, posted to 31^st March, 1997 at 3 PM.

D.K.ROY

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