C. V. N. SASTRY, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner is a cement manufacturing Company. It is a high tension consumer of electricity supplied by the A. P. State Electricity Board (A. P. S. E. B), first respondent herein. The petitioner assails the action of the second respondent i. e. , Senior Accounts Officer, Operation Circle, A. P. S. E. B. , khammam, in levying penalty to the tune of Rs. 9,92,466. 91 ps. towards proportionate energy consumed by the petitioner in excess of the Contracted maximum Demand (C. M. D.) in the bill dated 28-9-1988 for the month of september, 1988, as being arbitrary and illegal.

( 2 ) IT is not in dispute that the petitioner s C. M. D. is 15,000 KVA. As against the C. M. D. of 15,000 KVA, the maximum demand recorded during the month of September, 1988 was 16,320 KVA. The petitioner has thus exceeded the contracted demand by 1,320 KVA. There is no dispute that for the portion of the demand in excess of the contracted demand, the Board is entitled to collect at twice the normal charge, which is Rs. 36/- per KVA. Accordingly, in the bill in question a sum of Rs. 95,040/- was charged for the excess demand of 1,320 KVA at the rate of Rs. 72/- per KVA. This amount is not

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