Date:21/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/21/stories/2006042100651101.htm

Back CERC as Caesar's wife

Now, the case of another regulator. It may not impair its impartiality, but the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission — the apex regulator for the power sector — has been functioning out of premises leased from NTPC Ltd at the Capital's SCOPE Complex for the last several years.

CERC mandarins assert that the SCOPE complex is entirely reserved for Public Sector Undertakings and since CERC is not a PSU, it is not eligible to apply for its own office space in the building. And so, they justify the leasing of NTPC's premises at the complex. Industry players, however, contend that the Central regulator, which has to frequently pass orders on NTPC and adjudicate on petitions filed by others on issues relating to the utility, should be like Caesar's wife and above suspicion.

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