Supreme Court Seeks States' Reply on Electricity Regulatory Commission Vacancies

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to fill vacancies in electricity regulatory commissions across 15 States and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. [Energy Watchdog v. State of WB]A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana agreed to consider the plea. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, CJI Surya Kant and Justice V MohanaThe petition, filed by non-governmental organisation Energy Watchdog, alleges that several State Electricity Regulatory Commissions have been functioning without chairpersons, technical members or legally qualified members, in violation of the Electricity Act, 2003 and an earlier Supreme Court judgment.The plea contends that prolonged vacancies have affected the functioning of these regulatory bodies and deprived electricity consumers of effective remedies against distribution companies.According to the petition, the situation is particularly serious in Tamil Nadu, where all three positions - including that of chairperson, legal member and technical member - have remained vacant since June 2026.In Andhra Pradesh, the commission is allegedly functioning with only one member handling finance, while the positions of chairperson and technical member remain vacant. The existing member is not a legally qualified person, the petition states.The petitioner has also pointed out that electricity regulatory commissions in West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland hav