THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Goa government on Sunday firmly ruled out allowing any private company to use the State’s electricity distribution infrastructure, with Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar declaring that he would oppose such moves “at all costs” as long as he remained in office.
The statement comes just two days after The Goan broke the story of Tata Power Company Ltd’s application before the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) seeking a distribution licence for the entire State under the Electricity Act, 2003.
The Goa Electricity Department (GED) is currently the sole licencee. Tata Power’s bid, if approved, would end its monopoly and potentially usher in privatisation of power distribution.
Adding to the controversy, Tata Power has also parallely approached several village panchayats for consents as mandated by JERC.
Some local bodies, including Curtorim, have already rejected the request citing lack of clarity.
Dhavalikar made the government’s position unequivocal and said, “if some agency is trying to come and create confusion in Goa, it is not acceptable to us. The government will always oppose it. Till such time that I am on this chair, this will always be opposed,” he said.
He stressed that Goa has invested heavily in strengthening its power infrastructure, setting up new substations, upgrading existing ones and laying underground cables.
“We are not in favour of granting any NoC to a private company. Panchayats and municipalities should not entertain Tata Power’s requests,” he said.
The minister criticised Tata Power’s approach of directly seeking NoCs from local bodies.
“They should have come to the government through proper channels. Approaching panchayats directly is wrong. Tata Power should stop this and first approach the government,” he said.
Dhavalikar also rejected allegations by Fatorda MLA, Vijay Sardesai that Tata Power was pursuing the licence through the State government.
“That is not true. They may have approached panchayats, but not through the government,” he clarified.
Meanwhile, Tata Power has maintained that it is not seeking to take over GED but only wants to operate as a parallel distribution licensee, offering consumers a choice of suppliers.
The company already runs distribution businesses in Delhi, Mumbai, Ajmer and Odisha, introducing prepaid metering and digital billing there.
The JERC’s interim order dated June 4 records Tata Power’s petition but noted deficiencies in compliance with Regulation 3.7 of its Transmission and Distribution Licensing Regulations, 2020.
The Commission has granted the company two months, that is until August 4, to file a compliance affidavit.
GED officials have also expressed shock at Tata Power’s outreach to panchayats, saying no notice has been served to them by JERC.
For consumers, Tata Power’s entry could mean new tariff structures, billing systems and service protocols. But with the government’s categorical opposition, the battle over Goa’s power sector could possibly intensify and the next hearing of the Tata petition before JERC after August 4 will be keenly watched.
