SC allows Tata's to Power Mumbai directly

The Supreme Court's order on power supply allows Tata Power Company (TPC) to offer electricity to both retail and bulk consumers across Mumbai. This ends the monopoly of Reliance Energy Limited in the suburbs and BEST in the island city in power supply and allows consumers to choose their electricity supplier just like they do with their cellphone service-providers.But experts say the judgement does not automatically imply that Mumbaikars can choose between power utilities right away. There are several infrastructure, regulatory and cost issues that will have to be addressed by TPC before it starts selling power directly to the consumer.Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Comission (MERC) officials said TPC would have to present a detailed roll-out plan to the regulator before starting supply.Power sector experts said TPC could also use the REL network to supply power to retail consumers in the suburbs by paying “wheeling charges’’ under the Open-Access Policy.But it will not be able to use the BEST network in the island city as Open-Access Policy is not applicable in areas served by government undertakings.So TPC will have to spend a huge sum to lay infrastructure in the island city.Three agencies, Tata Power Company, BEST and Reliance Energy Limited, play a key role in lighting up your homes, offices and factories :BEST supplies power to the island city, from Colaba in the south to Sion and Mahim in the north.It lights up the homes and offices of 9.5 lakh consumers, supplying a total of 865 MW of power. REL-Reliance Energy Limited supplies power to the suburbs, from Bandra to Dahisar in the west and from GTB to Deonar in the east and GTB to Kanjurmarg in the central suburbs. 25 lakh consumers depend on REL for electricity at their homes and offices; REL has to supply 1,470 MW of power to meet this demand. TPC -Tata Power Company supplies power to bulk consumers like the railways, the mills, BARC, Bandra-Kurla Complex and the big oil refineries.It has to supply 477 MW of power daily for this purpose.