In Brief
Arc furnace steel manufacturers challenged the Punjab State Electricity Board's levy of surcharge on units drawing power at 11 KV instead of the mandated 66 KV voltage. They relied on a 1999 exemption circular issued before the Electricity Act, 2003. The Supreme Court held that tariff determination is a statutory exercise under the 2003 Act reserved exclusively to the Regulatory Commission. Previous executive exemptions cease to have legal effect unless explicitly continued in subsequent tariff orders. The surcharge is justified to compensate for transmission losses and service charges; the specific rate involves expert judgment and policy decisions beyond judicial review unless arbitrary or illegal. The Court upheld the High Court and Appellate Tribunal's decisions and dismissed all appeals.
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