We are well-versed of the fact that power is a Concurrent subject under the Constitution. The Electricity Act of 2003 clearly defines the functions of the government and the regulators under the various statutes of the legislation. Under the Act, all state-specific rules and reforms have to be undertaken by the state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) after taking into account their own state’s specificities. Unfortunately, today, the central government, by invoking Section 176 of the Electricity Act, is dictating terms on issues related to power supply and interfering in the matters of states. This overstepping of jurisdiction by the government, I suspect, might not be tenable in the court of law.
