Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Wednesday granted interim relief to state-run power distribution companies TGSPDCL and TGNPDCL in a dispute over the recovery of ₹24.1 crore through the Centre’s power payment monitoring mechanism.The utilities told the court that coercive action based on the disputed dues could disrupt power procurement and ultimately affect electricity supply across the state.Justice EV Venugopal passed the orders while hearing a lunch-motion petition filed by the two discoms.According to the petitioners, the dispute traces its origins to a 1997 power purchase agreement between the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Electricity Board and Lanco Kondapalli Power Limited.The companies contended that the generating station was commissioned nearly 27 months behind schedule, and that disputes over cost components relating to 2000-01 have remained under litigation for years. In June this year, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) ruled in favour of the generator on certain finance and procurement cost claims, along with interest.The discoms have challenged that order before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL), which is scheduled to hear the appeal on Oct 28.Pending the appeal, the generator uploaded four invoices on the govt’s PRAAPTI portal. Counsel for the discoms argued that these relate to historical claims and not to current power supply bills, and therefore do not fall within the ambit of the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules, 2022.The petitioners also questioned a 2023 procedure issued by the Centre that extended the application of those rules to such invoices, contending that the move was illegal and arbitrary.According to the discoms, the automated portal mechanism would trigger action from Oct 22 if the invoices remained unpaid. They argued that this could restrict their ability to buy power through electricity exchanges and result in a phased reduction of contracted power supply by 10% every month.The companies submitted that Telangana’s peak power demand has touched 19,892 MW and that nearly 25% to 30% of its electricity requirement is met through external purchases. Any disruption, they argued, would adversely affect farmers, domestic consumers and industries, causing irreparable harm.The petitioners sought a declaration that the 2023 procedure was invalid to the extent it covered such disputed claims, contending that the four invoices could not be treated as “dues” under the applicable rules. They also sought directions for removal of the invoices from the PRAAPTI portal and an order restraining the Centre, portal authorities and grid operators from taking coercive steps pending disposal of the case.
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