Supreme Court issues notice on electricity regulatory commission vacancies

The Supreme Court of India has issued notices regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the NGO Energy Watchdog. The petition alleges that several State Electricity Regulatory Commissions across 15 states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are suffering from prolonged vacancies and a lack of legally qualified members.

The plea contends that these vacancies violate the Electricity Act, 2003, and a 2018 Supreme Court judgment which mandated that commissions must include suitably qualified legal members to perform adjudicatory functions. The petitioner argues that the absence of these members deprives electricity consumers of their fundamental rights and access to justice, as they cannot effectively seek remedies against distribution companies.

Specific issues were highlighted in Tamil Nadu, where all three key positions have reportedly been vacant, and in Andhra Pradesh, where the commission is allegedly functioning with only one member. Other states mentioned include West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, among others.