In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,- 1[(1) “accounting statements” shall mean for each financial year, the balance sheet, the profit and loss statement, the cash flow statement and the report of the statutory auditors together with notes thereto:
Provided that in case of any local authority engaged in the business of distribution of electricity, the Accounting Statement shall mean the items, as mentioned above, prepared and maintained in accordance with the relevant Acts or Statutes as applicable to such local authority;]
(1-a) “Act” means the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003);
(2) “aggregate revenue requirement” or “ARR” means the costs pertaining to the licensed business which are permitted, in accordance with these regulations, to be recovered from the tariffs and charges determined by the Commission;
(3) “allocation statement” means for each financial year, a statement in respect of each of the businesses (wheeling, retail supply, other business) of the licensee, showing the amounts of any revenue, cost, asset, liability, reserve or provision etc, which has been either -
(a) determined by apportionment or allocation between different businesses of the licensee including the licensed business, together with a description of the basis of the apportionment or allocation; or
(b) charged from or to each such other business together with a description of the basis of that charge;
(4) “Appendix” means the appendix to these regulations;
(5) “base year” means the financial year immediately preceding first year of the control period and used for the purposes of these regulations;
2[(6) “change in law” shall mean the occurrence of any of the following events:—
(i) enactment, bringing into effect or promulgation of any new Indian law, or
(ii) adoption, amendment, modification, repeal or re-enactment of any existing Indian law, or
(iii) change in interpretation or application of any Indian law by a competent Court, Tribunal or Indian Governmental Instrumentality, which is the final authority under law for such interpretation or application, or
(iv) change by any competent statutory authority in any condition or covenant of any consent or clearances or approval or licence available or obtained for the project, or 1 Ins. clause (1) and renumbered clause (1-a) vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P. dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.
2 Subs. vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P.
dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.Before its substitution it stood as under:- “(6)“change in law” means occurrence of any of the following events:-
(a) the enactment, bringing into effect, adoption, promulgation, amendment, modification or repeal of any law, or
(b) change in interpretation of any law by a competent court, Tribunal or Indian Governmental Instrumentality which is the final authority under law for such interpretation, or
(c) change by any competent statutory authority, in any consent, approval or licence available or obtained for the project;” Compendium of HPERC Regulations, March 2021 3
(v) coming into force or change in any bilateral or multilateral agreement/treaty between the Government of India and any other Sovereign Government having implication for the distribution licensee regulated under these regulations; ]
(7)“Commission” means the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission as referred to in sub section (1) of section 82 of the Act;
(8) “Conduct of Business Regulations” means the Conduct of Business Regulations specified by the Commission under sub-section (1) of section 92 of Act;
1 [(8-a) “consumer” shall mean any person who is supplied with electricity for his own use by a licensee or the Government or by any other person engaged in the business of supplying electricity to the public under this Act or any other law for the time being in force and includes any person whose premises are for the time being connected for the purpose of receiving electricity with the works of a licensee, the Government or such other person, as the case may be, but shall be restricted to such consumers within the State except in border areas with neighbouring Indian States where it is non-feasible to provide connection by the other state(s) licensee, but with the mutual consent of the respective State Government;]
(9) “control period” means a multi-year period fixed, by the Commission, from time to time, for which the principles of determination of revenue requirement and tariff will be laid down;
(10) “distribution business” means authorised business of a distribution licensee to operate and maintain a distribution system for supplying electricity to the consumers in an area of supply;
(11) “financial year” means a period commencing on 1 st April of a calendar year and ending on 31 st March of the subsequent calendar year;
2 [(11-a) “force majeure event” shall mean, with respect to any party, any event or circumstance or combination of events or circumstances including those stated below, which is not within the reasonable control of, and is not due to an act of omission or commission of that party and which, by the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, could not have been avoided, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, would include the following events:—
(i) acts of God including lightning, drought, fire and explosion, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, flood, cyclone, typhoon, tornado, geological surprises, or exceptionally adverse weather conditions, or
(ii) any act of war, invasion, armed conflict or act of foreign enemy, blockade, embargo, revolution, riot, insurrection, terrorist or military action, or
(iii) industry-wide strikes and labour disturbances having a wide impact.;]
(12) “licence” means a licence granted under section 14 of the Act;
(13) “licensed business” means the functions and activities, which the licensee is required to undertake in terms of the licence granted by the Commission or being a deemed licensee under the Act;
1 Ins. clause (8-a) vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P.
dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.
2 Ins. clause (11-a) vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P.
dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.
4 Compendium of HPERC Regulations, March 2021
(14) “licensee” means a person who has been granted a licence and shall include a deemed licensee;
1[(14-a) “MCLR” shall mean One Year Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate;]
(15) “non-tariff income” means income relating to the licensed business other than from tariff (wheeling and retail supply), and excluding any income from other business, cross-subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge;
(16) “other business” means any business of the distribution licensee other than the licensed business;
2 [(16-a) “performance review” means the review of performance of the distribution licensee undertaken by the Commission annually for the 2 nd and successive years of the control period and this shall include the mid-term performance review carried out for the year after the mid-year of the control period, the annual performance reviews carried out for the years other than the first year, the true-up of the previous control period and true-up of previous years of the control period;]
3[(16-b)“prudence check” shall mean scrutiny of the reasonableness of expenditure incurred or proposed to be incurred, financing plan, use of efficient technology, cost and time over-run and such other factors as may be considered appropriate by the Commission for determination of tariff; and]
(17) “retail supply business” means the business of sale of electricity by a distribution licensee to the consumers within the area of supply in accordance with the terms of the licence for distribution and retail supply of electricity;
(18) “retail supply tariff” means the rate charged by the distribution licensee for supply to non-open access customers and includes charges for wheeling and retail supply;
(19) “State” means the State of Himachal Pradesh;
(20) “trading business” means the authorised business of an electricity trader in the area of operation allowed under the trading licence granted;
(21) “trading licence” means the licence granted under S ection 14 of the Act to undertake trading in electricity;
(22) “wheeling” means the operation whereby the distribution system and associated facilities of a distribution licensee are used by another person for the conveyance of electricity on payment of charges to be determined under section 62;
(23) “wheeling business” means the business of operating and maintaining a distribution system for conveyance of electricity in the area of supply of the distribution licensee;
(24) “year” means a financial year; and 1 Ins. Clause (14-a) vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P.
dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.
2 Ins. vide Not. No. HPERC/F (5) (3) (1) (Retail) dated 1 st November, 2013 published in the R.H.P.
dated 4 th November, 2013 at p. 4579 - 4596.
3 Ins. Clause (16-b) vide Not. HPERC-F(1)-1/2018 dated 22 nd November, 2018 published in R.H.P.
dated 27 th November, 2018 at p. 6265-6277.
Compendium of HPERC Regulations, March 2021 5
(25) 1[the words and expressions occurring in these regulations and not defined herein but defined in the Act or Grid Code or State Grid Code or the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Supply Code shall bear the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in the Act or Grid Code or State Grid Code or the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Supply Code and the words and expressions used herein but not specifically defined herein or in the Act or Grid Code or State Grid Code or HP Electricity Supply Code shall have the meanings generally assigned to them in the electricity industry.]
PART-II GUIDING PRINCIPLES