A. K. PATNAIK, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Society registered under the Societies registration Act, 1860 with the object of protecting the right, interest and welfare of consumers in the State of Orissa. The petitioner No. 2 is a consumer of electricity. The grid Corporation of Orissa Limited (for short, "gridco") has been procuring, transmitting and making bulk supply of electrical energy to four distribution companies, namely, Central Electricity Supply Company Limited (for short, "cesco"), Western Electricity supply Company Limited (for short, WESCO), northern Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Orissa Limited (for short, "nesco")and Southern Electricity Supply Company limited (for short, "southco"), and the said four distribution companies have been carrying on the business of distribution and retail supply of electricity to the consumers in their respective areas in the State of orissa. Under the Orissa Electricity Reforms act, 1995 (for short, "the 1995 Act"), the orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (for short, "the Commission") has been fixing the tariff for such bulk and retail supply of electricity. The petitioners have alleged in the writ petition that the Commission and the State Government have miserably failed to protect the interest of consumers of electricity in the State of Orissa, particularly those consumers who belong to the lower income groups while fixing tariff for retail supply of electricity. They have alleged that consumers in the State of Orissa have been burdened every year with increase in the price of unit of electricity and since 1997 while the average tariff has increased by 267 per cent. , the earning capacity of the consumers in the State of Orissa has not increased in the same proportion. The petitioners have relied on the report of the Sevan kanungo Committee which states that there has been considerable increase in the average tariff at cumulative rate of 15. 5% annually over the last 9 years without any perceptible improvement in customer service. In December, 2003, GRIDCO filed an application before the Commission under the 1995 Act indicating its annual revenue requirement for transmission and bulk supply of electricity for the purpose of determination of tariff for transmission and bulk supply for the year 2004-2005. In december, 2003, the four distribution companies, namely, CESCO, WESCO, NESCO and southco filed applications before the commission under the 1995 Act indicating their revised annual revenue requirements for the purpose of determination of tariff for distribution and retail supply of electricity for the year 2004-2005. The Electricity Act, 2003 (for short, "the 2003 Act") came into force on 10-6-2003. The grievance of the petitioners in the writ petition as was originally filed was that the Commission has not framed regulations under the 2003 Act and yet the commission has issued pubic notices annexed to the writ petition as Annexure-1 series inviting objections from inter alia consumers and their organisations to the said applications of GRIDCo and the four distribution companies for fixation of tariff for the year 2004-2005. Aggrieved the petitioners filed this writ petition contending, inter alia, that the Commission cannot determine the tariff without first, framing and publishing the Regulations and praying to quash the said five public notices annexed to the writ petition as Annexure-1 series and to declare the proceedings initiated on the applications of GRIDCO and the four distribution companies (hereinafter referred to as "the llcencees") as illegal, invalid and without authority of law. The petitioners also prayed for a writ of mandamus directing the Commission to frame Regulations and directing the State Government to make the rules under the 2003 Act and to furnish relevant information to the petitioner No. 1 under S. 6 of the Freedom of Information Act.

( 2 ) ON 20-7-2004, the Court issued notices to the opposite parties and in response to the s