The differences came up at the group of ministers (GoM) which met here on Thursday under Planning Commission deputy chairman KC Pant. Finance minister Yashwant Sinha, power minister R Kumaramangalam and planning minister Arun Shourie attended the meeting. Chemicals and petrochemicals minister Suresh Prabhu was not present at the meeting.

This was the second meeting of the GoM on power, which was set up to deliberate upon the Electricity Bill, 2000. Though there are still a few issues on which the power and finance ministries hold divergent views, officials feel that a consensus is likely to emerge at the next meeting which will be held on July 24.

There seems to be a consensus at the GoM on the power given to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for awarding licences. The draft of the Electricity Bill 2000, envisages wide-ranging functions of the CERC. The commission would be expected to specify guidelines in matters relating to tariff for electric utilities, determine tariff for inter-state sale of electricity, regulate inter-state transmission, issue authorisation to companies for inter-state transmission, promote competition, lay down and enforce safety standards, etc.

On the regional load despatch centres to control load for the segregation of power distribution, too, there was a similarity in views at the GoM.

The GoM also discussed recommendations of the Electricity Bill, according to which state electricity boards (SEBs) should be scrapped. The draft of the Bill also favoured unbundling of SEBs so that they become commercially viable. Other recommendations pertain to delicensing of generation and further liberalisation of the distribution sector.

The Electricity Bill, 2000, is also likely to empower the regulators to fix the tariffs for generation, transmission and distribution, and make metering power compulsory.

While it is proposed to completely delicense the generation sector, in the transmission sector, licences would be issued by the Central transmission utility or the state transmission utility.

In case any private investor is not issued transmission licence by any of the transmission utility, the Bill proposes to provide a provision for an appeal to a higher body by the investor.