The Association of Power Producers has written to the Ministry of Power red flagging certain provisions in the proposed amendments to the Tariff Policy 2016.

The statement said that the proposed amendments contain, “a very regressive provision for protecting central sector generating stations from competition and reintroducing cost-plus regime - a discriminatory and anti-consumer provision’’.

According to the association, there are provisions that allow exemptions to competition for state government-owned power generation companies at the nascent stage of regulatory overhaul for legacy reasons.

According to private sector power producers, the proposed amendments in the tariff policy expand the exemptions from competition to state and centre-owned companies, covering almost 80 per cent of the power generation sector.

“The proposed amendments would have a wide-ranging impact on investments in power sector and especially in generation segment…Now only private generators would be subjected to competition - a discriminatory framework,” it said.

These exemptions from competition will allow central sector power generation companies to move to a cost-plus regime for signing power purchase agreements with power distribution companies.

“In fact, the proposed policy framework should move forward, and bring state sector generating stations also in the competitive bidding framework,” the association said.

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