Apex power regulator without head for a year

The power regulator's office may have been functioning "normally" without a chairperson for almost a year, but industry executives see this as the Central government's lack of seriousness towards the body and the power sector.

The last chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Ashok Basu, demitted office in March 2007 but the government has not been able to find someone for the post.

This at a time when the country is in the midst of its most ambitious capacity addition -- 78,000 Mw by 2012.

"The procedure to find a replacement is long but a year is much longer for such an important post to stay vacant," said Basu.

The CERC acts as the leader of state regulatory commissions and sets the country's regulatory agenda through a forum of all power regulators. The CERC head is also the chairman of the "forum of regulators".

"Because there's no CERC chairperson to set the agenda, the forum, which has taken many important decisions like open-access distribution, is also without a head for the past one year," said Basu.

There is no clear reason for the delay in the appointment. "We have done our job. We gave our recommendations to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet three months ago," said Power Secretary Anil Razdan, a member of the search committee to fill the post.

CERC officials say the commission's day-to-day functioning has not been affected as two members are enough for quorum. The commission, which comprises a chairperson and three members, is also without a member for over 15 months.

"It is not the best way to work," said a commission official. "The chairperson is the chief executive officer and his presence is necessary for a balanced and a more informed decision-making," said an official.

"It is a sad state of affairs and reflects badly on the government's seriousness towards the power sector," said a senior government official.