 |
 |
|
|
|
|
VOICE
OF ELECTRICITY WORKERS Oct-Dec 2001 Vol 2 No.4 Index ORISSA POWER REGULATOR APPOINTS
ADMINISTRATOR, The US power major AES has lost management control of the distribution firm Central Electricity Supply Company (CESCO) with the Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) appointing an administrator today. The commission has appointed Suresh Chandra Mahopatra, managing director of Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation, as Cesco administrator. With the administrator’s appointment, the Cesco board has been put in suspended animation. AES, however, will continue to hold 51 per cent stake in Cesco, at least till March, 2001 when the lock-in period with regard to the share transfer expires. The state government and the employees own the rest 49 per cent in the company. The OERC move is the culmination of days of bitter fight between the US power major and the state-owned Grid Corporation (Gridco) over the running of Cesco. Crisis had deepened with AES expressing its desire to pull out Cesco, citing huge losses and lack of cooperation from the government for revenue improvement as the reasons. The State government had refused to accept AES plea for the sale of its shares to Gridco or a third party under the pretext of restriction on share period because of the lock-in-period. AES precipitated the crisis by refusing to pay the Cesco employees salary for July because of the cash crunch, sources say. This led to an unrest among the employees, the Cesco administration had become ‘rudderless’ with AES nominated managing director and other senior officials remaining absent from the headquarters for long periods. In this backdrop, Gridco had approached the power regulator to appoint an administrator for Cesco to restore a semblance of normalcy in the management of the company. The commission in its order has stated that the administrator has been appointed to ensure the continued power supply in the central zone. The commission felt that there was an imminent threat of breakdown of power supply in Cesco areas, following the employees’ threat to go on strike. Courtesy: Business Standard |
| Copyright © 2002 - 2004 Electricity Employees Federation of India. All Rights Reserved. |
 |
