GUWAHATI, March 8— The North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO), a company owned and controlled by the Central Government, is rather exploitative towards the North Eastern States! The attitude of the NEEPCO authorities was found to be so discriminatory to the NE States that at one point of time, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission even indicted the NEEPCO for its neglect and higher rates charged from the NE States for the power it is supplying to them.
The Regulatory Commission in its ‘Suo-moto proceedings in matters of supply of power from Doyang HE Project, NEEPCO, to WBSEB’, observed,— “Certain astonishing facts have come to light during these proceedings. The constituents of North Eastern Region are buying power generated from Assam Gas BPP and Agartala GTPP at the rate of 225 paise and 195 paise per unit.
“On the contrary, the power generated from Doyang HE Project is being sold to a utility outside the region at a much lower price. WBSEB, which is buying power generated from Doyang HE Project, is already surplus in power and is selling power to ASEB, one of the constituents of North Eastern Region, at a higher price”. The NEEPCO had been supplying power to WBSEB of West Bengal at a ‘mutually agreed tariff” of 125 paise per unit upto May 8, 2001 and 137.5 paise per unit thereafter, without obtaining the Regulatory Commission’s approval, on the grounds that the Central Government had not finalised the funding pattern for the Doyang Project, incapacity of the constituents of NE region to buy power generated by the Project and non-finalisation of operational norms by the Commission.
The Commission directed the NEEPCO to sell power to West Bengal only after the constituents of the NE region refuse to purchase the power generated by Doyang Project and also to make offer for sale of power to NE States ‘at the same rate of which they were selling power to West Bengal.’