Appointment of TNERC chief: Spinning mills body urges panel not to pick anyone from Tangedco for post

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA) has appealed to Justice CT Selvam-headed selection committee not to appoint any person from the Tangedco or TANTRANSCO as chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC).

Considering conflict of interest, TASMA sought the appointment of a person from any cadre like IAS officers or retired high court judges or from the field of finance, commerce, economics or management as the chairperson.

In a petition to Justice CT Selvam, TASMA chief advisor K Venkatachalam said that persons from Tangedco or TANTRANSCO were being appointed as the chairperson of the commission immediately after their retirement from 2014 onwards leading to a clash of interest.

Pointing to Section 84 of the Electricity Act 2003 dealing with the qualifications for appointment of chairperson and members of the state commission, he said that the provisions of the act mandate that the chairperson and the members of the commission should have adequate knowledge and capacity in dealing with problems related to engineering, finance, commerce, economics, law or management.

The two sitting members of the commission come from engineering and law backgrounds, the TASMA said, urging the panel to recommend the selection committee, to select and suggest a candidate from fields other than Tangedco or TANTRANSCO.

The chairperson post in the TNERC fell vacant after the incumbent chairman M Chandrasekar's five-year tenure came to an end on August 15, 2024.

Anticipating the vacancy, the energy department constituted a three-member selection panel headed by Justice CT Selvam on July 2, 2024, to select the chairperson of the commission. However, the selection panel was reconstituted again on October 17.