The B.ACCOUNTABLE program of
B.PAC encompasses the research
projects and engagements with regulators.

7th Feb, 2020: B.PAC’s presentation to KERC on BESCOM’s tariff determination for FY 21 during public hearingThe Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Dhiya Consulting Pvt Ltd prepared a 200 page report for the Forum of Indian Regulators (FORI) on the cost of service for supply to agricultural consumers and options for reducing cross-subsidy in agricultural tariffs.

4th Feb 2019: B.PAC Submission Determination of Tariff for FY-20 presented during KERC public hearing On the 4th of Feburary 2019, B.PAC submited a report during public hearing to the Karnataka Electricity Regualtory Commission detailing its observations and objections to the proposal for determination of tariffs for the financial year of 2020 submitted by BESCOM.

3rd Feb, 2020 : B.PAC’s submission on BESCOM’s tariff determination for FY 21 submitted to KERC On the 3rd of Feburary 2019, B.PAC submited a report during public hearing to the Karnataka Electricity Regualtory Commission detailing its observations and objections to the proposal for determination of tariffs for the financial year of 2021 submitted by BESCOM. Find the presentation https://bpac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B.PAC_Submission-to-KERC_presentation_final-version.pdf

20th Mar, 2018 : B.PAC Submission on state of affairs in BESCOM before Hon’ble Commission On the 19th of March 2018, B.PAC submitted a petition to the Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) regarding the state of affairs prevailing in BESCOM. In the petition are details of BESCOM's track record analysis, distribution losses, and collection ineffieciency. The petition requests the KERC to direct BESCOM to undertake certain internal reforms.

19th Feb, 2018: B.PAC Submission – Determination of Tariff for FY-19 presented during KERC public hearing On the 19th of Feburary 2018, B.PAC submitted its observations and remarks on BESCOMs proposal for the determination of tariffs for the financial year of 2019 in the form of a public hearing submission to the Karanatak Electricity Regulatory Commission.

10th May, 2017: Payment of Subsidy directly to the Farmers’ Account and encourage metering of the IP Sets On the 10th of May 2017, B.PAC submitted a letter to the then Chief Minister, Shri. K. Siddaramaiah, regarding the direct payment of Farmer subsidies to their accounts and encouraging the metering of IP sets.

20th Feb, 2017 : Observations/remarks/objections on the proposal for determination of tariff for FY-18 for BESCOM On the 20th of Feburary 2017, B.PAC a report during a public hearing to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, detailing its observations and objections to BESCOM's tariff determination for the financial year of 2017. The report indicates that while BESCOMs performance has improved marginally over the past few years, it continues to be unreliable, lacks transparency, and continuously hikes the price of power. It requests KERC to focus on consumer protection and penalize BESCOM for its various ineffiecinces and corruption.

17th Feb, 2016 : Observations/remarks/objections on the proposal for determination of tariff for FY-17 for BESCOM On the 17th of Feburary 2016, B.PAC submitted a letter to Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shri Shankarlinge Gowda, detailing its observations and objections to BESCOM's tariff determination for the financial year of 2017. The letter reccomends that the KERC disallows BESCOMs request for an increase in average cost of supply per unit on the grounds that a healthy profit is already being achieved under present tariffs and a hike would be detrimental to consumers and industry.

14 Sep, 2015 : Letter to Industries Minister Shri R. V. Deshpande - Need for reduction is surcharge for direct access power purchases for industrial consumers in Karnataka State On the 14th of September 2015, B.PAC submitted a letter to the GoK Minister of Industries, Shri R.V Deshpande regarding a reduction in surcharge for direct access power purchuases to industrial consumers. According to B.PAC, the increase in surcharges deters industries from enterings into Power Purchuase Agreements (PPAs), thereby increasing pressure on ESCOMs as both consumers and industrail consumers are left to draw from it. By reducing surcharges, industries will be encouraged to enter into PPAs thereby decreasing the load of ESCOMs and reducing the State's high power deficit.

9th Sep, 2015: Power Situation in Karnataka - Submission to Mr. MK Shankaralinge Gowda Chairman, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) On the 9th of Feburary 2015, B.PAC submitted a report on the Power Situation in Karnataka to the Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), Mr. M.K Shankaralinge Gowda. The report sought to bring important issues to the KERC's attention, among them being energy misuse, an unprofessional approach leading to higher costs, unsafe power structures and ineffiecncy in the use of green energy. B.Pac reccomeneded a number of policy measures to deal with these issues such as the implementation of Energy Audits.

May, 2015: Standing Committee On Energy (2014-15) - Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 - 4th Report On the 7th of May 2015, the Fourth Report of the Electricity (Ammendmant) Bill was presented to the Lok Sabha by the Standing Committee on Energy (2014-15)

16th Jan, 2015: Recommendations for better performance of BESCOM and enhanced safety of citizens On the 16th of Jan 2015, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chairman of the Karnataka Electricity Comission, Shri M.R Sreenivasa Murthy regarding its recommendations for better performance of BESCOM and enhancing the saftey of citizens. The recommendations ranged from the fencing of high tension structures on busy streets to the replacment of transformers and overhead structures for cubical substations in aparatments and residential areas.

3rd Feb, 2013 : State Distribution Utilities First Annual Integrated Rating The 2013 Annual Integrated Ratings of State distribution Utilities was submitted by ICRA Limited and Credit Analysis and Research Ltd based upon a framework approved by the Ministry of Power. The report provided a careful assesment of the finnacial health of these utilities taking into account their varying strengths and weaknesses.

18 Feb, 2019 : Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) welcomes the following announcements from FY 2019 – 20 BBMP budget On the 18th February 2019 B.PAC had submitted actionable propsals to the Mayor of Bangalore and the BBMP for the budget of the financial year of 2019-20. Several of these were taken into account including Adminstrative Reforms, Financial and Tax reforms and Horticulture and Enviornmental Management.

BBMP Budget Estimate 2018-19On (date needed) B.PAC formulated an estimate for the BBMP budget for the finnacial year of 2018-19.

BBMP Budget 2015-16 to 2018-19 Analysis by B.PACOn (date needed) B.PAC published an analysis of of the BBMP budget from 2016-16 to 2018-19.

22 Sep, 2015 : B.PAC members met and demanded from the Hon’ble Mayor Manjunath Reddy to take immediate steps to free Bengaluru from Dengue and provide better civic amenities On the 22nd of September 2015, B.PAC addressed a letter to Bangalore Mayor Shri B.N Manjunath Reddy regarding key civic issues of Bangalore including the spread and prevalence of Dengue. The contents of the letter have B.PAC requesting to work with the Mayor on a number of projects ranging from city-wide public health programs to increasing revenue collection through the use of technology.

24 July, 2015 : OStanding Committee mandatesOn the 24th of July 2015, B.PAC compiled a list ofthe function of the 12 Standing Committees constitued as per the 2010 ammendmant to the Karnataka Municipilities Act.

March, 2015 : B.PAC Case with Lokayukta : Dumping of debris and garbage on Metro Medians - Continued advocacy On March 2015, during a complaint B.PAC registered with the Lokayukta, over 700 photographs of construction debris and garbage along metro medians and surrounding metro stations were submitted to the anti-corruption court. Initial response from the Lokayukta has been positive, with a joint inspection of vulnerable spots along with BBMP and BMRCL being suggested. (follow-up?)

12 Feb, 2015 : B.PAC suggests 5 Bengaluru Corporations in its submission to Expert committee, BBMP Restructuring In a Press Release dated for Feburary 12, 2015, B.PAC announced its submission to the BBMP restructuring expert committee, recommending that the BBMP be restructured into five seperate and distinct corporations.

July, 2013 : A Guide to KMC Act 1964 In July of 2013, Former additional Chief Secretary and retired IAS Officer V. Balasubramanian published a report on the death of Bangalore's lakes. The report describes how, given the lack of a nearby perennial river, the city of Bangalore is heavily dependant on its lakes and tanks for a steady supply of water. Given how the condition of these lakes have vastly deteriorated in the past few years, the city could face a _ water crisis in short order. Mr. Balasubramanian recommends the requesting funds from aninternational body such as the World Bank or Asian Development Bank to solve the issue.

February 8th 2019 : B.PAC's analysis of Karnataka budget - FY 19 – 20 On the 8th of Feburary 2019, B.PAC published a report analysing the Karnataka Goverment for the Finnacial Year of 2019-2020. The report loos closley at sources of revenue for the Government, Sector-wise spending, and specifically at the allocations for the city of Bangalore.

February 8th 2019 : PROPOSAL TO BBMP BUDGET FY 2019 -20 On the 8th of Feburary 2019, B.PAC submitted its propsals to the BBMP budget for the finnacial year of 2019-20. The propsal includes suggestions for increased focus in the areas of road related infrastructure, public ammenities and lake and urban enviornmental management.

July 2017 : Letter to CM on Constitution of Ward Committees (WC) in all 198 wards in BBMP through a democratic selection process and preparing a guidelines for the sameOn the 10th of July 2017, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chief Minister, Shri K. Siddaramaiah requesting a more democratic system for the selection of memebers of BBMP Ward Committies. These offices were being awarded to the those already alinged with the BBMP as opposed to ordinary citizens who have undergone extensive training in he nuances of city administration.

June 2017 : The Governance Dialogue: Roles, Responsibilities and Decision-making process in a decentralized set up' On June 29, 2017, B.PAC organised an interactive session titled ‘The Governance Dialogue: Roles, Responsibilities and Decision-Making Process in a Decentralised Set Up’. The session included speakers who were elected representatives from both India and Australia. As the two countries have a similar 'decentralised' political set-up with bicaramel legislatures and three-tier systems of governance, B.PAC strongly believes that there is much to learn from each other through such sessions.

August 2016 : Letter to Governor on Karnataka Urban Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill On July 21st 2016, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Governer of Karnataka, Shri Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala in response to the passing of the Urban Governance Bill on July 19 2016. The letter requests for the Governor to reject or send back the Bill for further discussion in the legislative house. The main point of contention was an ammendament which would drastically reduce the reserved space for parks and civic ammenities in newly proposed layouts. B.PAC strongly believes that this will adversly effect the quality of life for citizens.

June 2016 : B.PAC/C-SMART suggestions submitted to Dr. Muralidhar, Nodal Office, Smart City Namma Bengaluru In June 2016, B.PAC along with the Center for Smart Cities (C-SMART) submitted a report to Dr Muralidhar, Nodal Officer for Smart City Bengaluru regarding their proposals for making Bangalore a viable Smart City. The report suggests focusing on four broad areas: mobility, safety, cleanliness and an enviornmentally friendly design.

June 2016 : 10 Principles and Key Features In June 2016, B.PAC submitted(?) a report(to who?) regarding the key priciples of Urban Governance. The report lists down 10 important rules that City Governments must follow for effective governance.

June 2016 : Urban Governance Bill – 2016 In June 2016, a draft of the Urban Governance Bill was sent to B.PAC by the Government of Karnataka(?). The Bill extends to all cities in the State and discusses Government agencies, duties and powers of municipal authorities, urban planning, finanncial development and so on.

10 Oct, 2018: Suggestion made to CEO Karnataka to encourage Voter Registration and Turnout On the 10th of October 2018, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer-Karnataka, Mr. Sanjeev Kumar regarding its suggestions to increase voter registration and turnout in the city of Bangalore.The letter details B.PAC's 'One Million New Voters' campaign and recommends, among other suggestions, generating an SMS to all registered voters as soon as Form 6 is approved, and to set up voterfacilitation camps at campuses and residential clusters in association with citizen organizations.

24 July, 2018: 2018 Karnataka state Election Results On the 24th of July 2018, B.PAC compiled a list of the Karnataka State Election results using data from Form 20 released by the Election Commission of Karnataka.

15 May, 2018: Electoral Roll in Bengaluru Urban District by CEO-Karnataka On the 15th of May 2018, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Election Commisioner of India, Shri. Sunil Arora, regarding irregularities in the electoral roll for the Bangalore Urban Dstrict as published by the CEO Karnataka. According to B.PAC's research and estimates, there are more than 15 lakh irregularities in this electoral roll.

06 Nov, 2017 : Letter to Election commissioner On the 6th of Novemeber 2017, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Election Commissioner of India, Shri Sunil Arora regarding the draft electoral roll published by CEO Karnataka. The contents of the letter focus on the difficulty in accessing data published by CEO Karnataka, given the fact that they have been published as non-searchable pdf files requiring an input of email ID, phone number, and CPATCHA which every voter may not have access to.

03 Nov, 2017: Submission to Sri Sunil Arora On the 3rd of Novemeber 2017, B.PAC submitted a report to the Election Commissioner of India, Shri Sunil Arora regarding the electoral rolls published by the CEO Karnataka. B.PAC requested that certain errors in the electoral roll, such as the absence of approximately 84,000 voters and unsynchronised data on various government website pertaing to the rolls, be corrected.

03 Nov, 2017: Electoral reforms resolution by Parliamentary standing committee On the 3rd of November 2017, B.PAC compiled a set of electoral reform resolutions by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The resolutions, among other things, aim to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislatures, implement state fundingof elections to reduce the amount of black money in election campaign and create a single electoral roll for both the state and central Election Commission to reduce election malpratice and do away with duplicate voters

17 Feb, 2018: B.PAC’s petition – Right to drinking water, aids in getting Bengaluru extra water from Cauvery river On the 17th of Feburary 2018, compiled a report on a petition it had submitted to the honourable Supreme Court of India during an appeals case filed by Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka against the final award of the Cauvery Waters Tribunal in 2007. In the report, B.PAC thanks the court for taking into account its prayer to the court requesting the right to drinking water be given more importance than for other purposes such as irrigation, hydropower and so on.

10 Sept, 2015 : Plan of Action to mitigate scarcity of drinking water in Bengaluru City - Letter to CM On the 10th of September 2015, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri. K. Siddaramaiah regarding a plan of action to be formulated on the issue of water scarcity of Bangalore. The letter requests the honourable Chief Minister to set up a Crisis Management Group to take up measures for the conservation of water given the effects of a disastorous monsoon season.

March, 2017: A Report on ‘Road Safety and Traffic Intervention Project' in Hoodi Main Road - Submitted to Mr. Pradeep Singh Karola, Managing Director, BMRCL In March 2017, B.PAC submitted a report titled 'Road Safety and Traffic Intervention Project' in Hoodi Main Road to managing director of BMRCL, Mr. Pradeep Singh Karola. The compilation of the report was undertaken along with the Center for Smart Cities (C-smart) and WRI India and supported by TE Connectivity Pvt Ltd. The report includes its findings and recommendations inferred from this inspection.

11 Oct, 2018: Summary of AERA’s order on the determination of aeronautical tariffs in respect of KIA, Bengaluru for the second control period On the 11th of October 2018, B.PAC compiled a summary of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority's (AERA) order on the determination of aeronautical tariffs for Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

26 JuLY, 2018 Subject: Tariff determination of Kempegowda International Airport for second control period On the 26th of July 2018 B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chief Secretary of the Government of Karnataka, Mr. Vijay Bhaskar T.M regarding the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority's (AERA) tariff determination of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for the second control period.

04 JuLY, 2018 Subject: B.PAC submission to AERA on aeronautical tariff for second control period regarding KIA On the 4th of July 2018, B.Pac submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), Ms. Puja Jindal. The letter detailed B.PAC's observations and comments regarding the Consultation Paper No. 05/2018-19 in respct to the determination of tariffs for Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

18 Jun, 2018 Subject: observations and comments from B.PAC to AERA during stakeholder consultation meet held in Bengaluru on the Consultation Paper No. 05/ 2018-19 in respect of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru On the 18th of June 2018, B.Pac submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), Ms. Puja Jindal. The letter contained observations and remarks from B.PAC to AERA during the stakeholder consultation meet held in Bengalore on the Consultation Paper No. 05/ 2018-19 with respect of Kempegowda International Airport.

17 Apr, 2018: User Development Fee (UDF) collection at Kemp Gowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru. On the 17th of April 2018, B.PAC submitted a letter to the Chairperson of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AREA), Shri S. Machendranathan. The letter contained a petition pertaining to the collection of the User Development Fee (UDF) Collected at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

21 Mar, 2018 : Comments/observation to the consultation paper On the 21st of March 2018, B.PAC submitted a letter to Secretary of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). The letter contained B.PAC's comments and observations regarding the Consultation Paper No. 22/ 2013-14 concerning Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).