Ex-IAS, M K Shankaralinge Gowda and Ashok C Manoli, in the reckoning for KERC top job ­

BANGALURU: The names of two retired IAS officers M K Shankaralinge Gowda and Ashok C Manoli are before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as possible choices for the post of Chairman at the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC).In the past, both had headed the IT department.

The four-member official panel headed by retired High Court judge, Justice Vishwanath Shetty, has recommended the names of these two officers from a host of applicants.

Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, who first vetted the list, has sent the names to the Chief Minister with his comments. Official sources said the committee recom mendations are not binding on the CM, and the government, if not satisfied, can call for a fresh panel of names.

Formed in 1999, KERC deals with a host of regulatory subjects including tariff fixation, power purchases by the distribution utilities, facilitating intra-state transmission etc. Since its formation, the commission has had three chairman ­ Philipose Mathai, K P Pandey and M R Sreenivasa Murthy. The post fell vacant in March after Murthy's retirement.

The CM usually considers all factors before finalising a name as the government of the day usually does not like or want a strong power sector regulator.

It can make life uneasy for the government by issuing tough directions to distribution utilities, holding them to account on various purchases, and demanding compliance.

A number of retired bureaucrats as well as technocrats such as former KPTCL chairmen V P Baligar and K N Shrivastava, KPTCL Director (Transmission) S Sumanth, and retired Mescom MD Govindappa had applied.

After retirement, while Gowda kept himself away from public glare, Manoli dabbled in politics by joining the Congress in 2012.