The Commission is a statutory body
comprising three members including the Chairman
appointed by the State from among persons shortlisted by
a Selection Committee in accordance with the procedure
laid down in the OER Act, 1995. It is supported by a
trained staff of about 20 officers appointed by the
Commission.
The members of the Commission, known as Commissioners,
are appointed from among persons of ability, having
adequate knowledge or experience in dealing with the
problems relating to engineering, economics, commerce,
accountancy, law or administration.
The Commission is organised to work through 5 divisions
namely Secretariat, Law, Engineering, Tariff and
Administration. The Engineering Division deals with
issue of licenses and all engineering matters excluding
those related to tariff. The Tariff division handles all
matters relating to tariff and economic and financial
analysis. The Secretary to the Commission along with the
Law Division handle the legal and quasi-judicial
activities of the Commission. Administration Division is
responsible for housekeeping activities of the
Commission.
It has been the endeavour of the Commission to function
in a modern office environment with emphasis on
officer-oriented work and computerised work procedure.
An efficient Local Area Network with state of the art
P-IV computers and structured cabling reaches every
officer.
FINANCE
In accordance with the provisions of the Section8(3) of
the OER Act, 1995, the salaries and allowances payable
to the members of the Commission and the administrative
expenses shall be charged to the Consolidated Funds of
the State. According to the procedure laid down in the
Act, the State Govt. is required to provide the funds
for a financial year on the basis of statement of
estimated expenditure submitted by the Commission to the
Govt.
The Commission is not designed to collect any revenue
and therefore, the entire resources are limited to the
budgetary grant charged to the Consolidated Fund of the
State.
According to the provisions of the OER Act, 1995 the
Commission maintains accounts and keep records as
prescribed in the Regulations in consultation with the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India or persons
designated by him.
The Electricity Act 2003 envisages a radical change in
vis-a-vis financial autonomy of the Commission is
concerned. The Act authorises the State government to
establish a fund to be called as State Electricity
Regulatory Commission Fund. This fund would receive all
the grants, loans, fees etc.. This arrangement would
enable the Commission to sustain itself through its own
fund, a clear departure from the present system of
dependancy on Government funding.