Electricity Act, 2003 Part IX

(1) There shall be a body to be called the Central Electricity Authority to exercise such functions and perform such duties as are assigned to it under this Act.

(2) The Central Electricity Authority, established under section 3 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (54 of 1948) and functioning as such immediately before the appointed date, shall be the Central Electricity Authority for the purposes of this Act and the Chairperson, Members, Secretary and other officers and employees thereof shall be deemed to have been appointed under this Act and they shall continue to hold office on the same terms and conditions on which they were appointed under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948.

(3) The Authority shall consist of not more than fourteen Members (including its Chairperson) of whom not more than eight shall be full-time Members to be appointed by the Central Government.

(4) The Central Government may appoint any person, eligible to be appointed as Member of the Authority, as the Chairperson of the Authority, or, designate one of the full time Members as Chairperson of the Authority.

(5) The Members of the Authority shall be appointed from amongst persons of ability, integrity and standing who have knowledge of, and adequate experience and capacity in, dealing with problems relating to engineering, finance, commerce, economics or industrial matters, and at least one Member shall be appointed from each of the following categories, namely:--

(a) engineering with specialisation in design, construction, operation and maintenance of generating stations;

(b) engineering with specialisation in transmission and supply of electricity;

(c) applied research in the field of electricity;

(d) applied economics, accounting, commerce or finance.

(6) The Chairperson and all the Members of the Authority shall hold office during the pleasure of the Central Government.

(7) The Chairperson shall be the Chief Executive of the Authority.

(8) The headquarters of the Authority shall be at Delhi.

(9) The Authority shall meet at the head office or any other place at such time as the Chairperson may direct, and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at its meetings) as it may specify.

(10) The Chairperson, or if he is unable to attend a meeting of the Authority, any other Member nominated by the Chairperson in this behalf and in the absence of such nomination or where there is no Chairperson, any Member chosen by the Members present from among themselves shall preside at the meeting.

(11) All questions which come up before any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority of votes of the Members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson or the person presiding shall have the right to exercise a second or casting vote.

(12) All orders and decisions of the Authority shall be authenticated by the Secretary or any other officer of the Authority duly authorised by the Chairperson in this behalf.

(13) No act or proceeding of the Authority shall be questioned or shall be invalidated merely on the ground of existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of, the Authority.

(14) The Chairperson of the Authority and other full-time Members shall receive such salary and allowances as may be determined by the Central Government and other Members shall receive such allowances and fees for attending the meetings of the Authority, as the Central Government may prescribe.

(15) The other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and Members of the Authority including, subject to the provisions of sub-section (6), their terms of office shall be such as the Central Government may prescribe.

No Member of the Authority shall have any share or interest, whether in his own name or otherwise, in any company or other body corporate or an association of persons (whether incorporated or not) or a firm engaged in the business of generation, transmission, distribution and trading of electricity or fuel for the generation thereof or in the manufacture of electrical equipment.

The Authority may appoint a Secretary and such other officers and employees as it considers necessary for the performance of its functions under this Act and on such terms as to salary, remuneration, fee, allowance, pension, leave and gratuity, as the Authority may in consultation with the Central Government, fix:

PROVIDED that the appointment of the Secretary shall be subject to the approval of the Central Government.

The Authority shall perform such functions and duties as the Central Government may prescribe or direct, and in particular to--

(a) advise the Central Government on the matters relating to the national electricity policy, formulate short-term and perspective plans for development of the electricity system and co-ordinate the activities of the planing agencies for the optimal utilisation of resources to subserve the interests of the national economy and to provide reliable and affordable electricity for all consumers;

(b) specify the technical standards for construction of electrical plants, electric lines and connectivity to the grid;

(c) specify the safety requirements for construction, operation and maintenance of electrical plants and electric lines;

(d) specify the Grid Standards for operation and maintenance of transmission lines;

(e) specify the conditions for installation of meters for transmission and supply of electricity;

(f) promote and assist in the timely completion of schemes and projects for improving and augmenting the electricity system;

(g) promote measures for advancing the skill of persons engaged in the electricity industry;

(h) advise the Central Government on any matter on which its advice is sought or make recommendation to that Government on any matter if, in the opinion of the Authority, the recommendation would help in improving the generation, transmission, trading, distribution and utilisation of electricity;

(i) collect and record the data concerning the generation, transmission, trading, distribution and utilisation of electricity and carry out studies relating to cost, efficiency, competitiveness and such like matters;

(j) make public from time-to-time the information secured under this Act, and provide for the publication of reports and investigations;

(k) promote research in matters affecting the generation, transmission, distribution and trading of electricity;

(l) carry out, or cause to be carried out, any investigation for the purposes of generating or transmitting or distributing electricity;

(m) advise any State Government, licensees or the generating companies on such matters which shall enable them to operate and maintain the electricity system under their ownership or control in an improved manner and where necessary, in co-ordination with any other Government, licensee or the generating company owning or having the control of another electricity system;

(n) advise the Appropriate Government and the Appropriate Commission on all technical matters relating to generation, transmission and distribution of electricity; and

(o) discharge such other functions as may be provided under this Act.

It shall be the duty of every licensee, generating company or person generating electricity for its or his own use to furnish to the Authority such statistics, returns or other information relating to generation, transmission, distribution, trading and use of electricity as it may require and at such times and in such form and manner as may be specified by the Authority.

(1) In the discharge of its functions, the Authority shall be guided by such directions in matters of policy involving public interest as the Central Government may give to it in writing.

(2) If any question arises as to whether any such direction relates to a matter of policy involving public interest, the decision of the Central Government thereon shall be final.