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2024 Supreme(AP) 944
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI
NINALA JAYASURYA, J.
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., Rep.by its Senior Manager (Plant Maintenance) – Petitioner
Versus
Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Ltd., and Others - Respondents
Writ Petition No.20857 Of 2023
Decided On : 18-06-2024
For the Petitioner: Mr. K. Gopal Chowdary, Mr. Challa Guna Ranjan, Adv.
For the Respondents: Mr. Metta Chandra, Sekhara Rao, Standing Counsel.
IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that self-generated solar power used for internal consumption does not constitute unauthorized use of electricity under Section 126 of the Electricity Act.
Headnote:
Electricity - Unauthorized Use - Electricity Act, 2003 - Sections 126, 42(2) - The court interpreted Section 126 regarding unauthorized use of electricity, concluding that the petitioner’s use of self-generated solar power did not constitute unauthorized use under the Act, leading to the annulment of the assessment orders.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a government company, challenged the Provisional and Final Assessment Orders alleging unauthorized use of electricity based on the installation of rooftop solar power plants for self-consumption, asserting that the orders were issued without jurisdiction.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the provisions of the Electricity Act, particularly Section 126, were not applicable as the petitioner was using self-generated solar power and had not utilized any electricity supplied by the licensee.
Issues: Whether the assessment orders were valid and within jurisdiction, and whether the writ petition was maintainable.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the invocation of Section 126 was inappropriate as the petitioner was not using electricity supplied by the licensee, and thus the assessment orders were without jurisdiction.
Result: The writ petition is allowed and the impugned orders are set aside.
ORDER :
(Ninala Jayasurya, J.) :
The Writ Petition is filed challenging the Provisional Assessment Order dated 19.01.2023 of the 3rd respondent and Final Assessment Order of the 2respondent dated 13.07.2023 on various grounds.
2. The relevant facts of the case as set out in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition may briefly be stated as follows :
The petitioner is a Government Company wholly owned by the Government of India and under the control of the Ministry of Defence. It is engaged in the construction and repairs of ships and sub-marines vital to the National Security and Defence of India. It is availing electricity supply from the 1st respondent/Distribution Licensee vide Service Connection No.VSP012 with a Contracted Maximum Demand (CMD) of 3500 KVA.
3. The Government of India came out with the National Action Plan for Climate change and the National Solar Mission was one of the flagship programmes. A target of 100 Giga Watts (GW) was declared by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, out of which 40 GW was to be achieved by various small rooftop and distributed solar power plants. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy issued a communication dated 07.01.2015 conveying the sanction of the President of India for setting up over 300 MW of gridconnected and off-grid solar power projects by the Defence Establishments under the Ministry of Defence and the Para-Military Forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs providing for Viability Gap Funding. The petitioner was among those mandated by the Government of India to set up rooftop solar power projects and to use the energy generated therein for its own use.
4. The petitioner was allotted rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 3 MW, to be installed on various vacant roofs of the buildings within the premises of the Naval Shipyard at Visakhapatnam. The installation and commissioning of 2 MWp ( 500 KWp x 4) was undertaken with the guidance, approval and supervision of the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd., (SECI), a Government of India undertaking under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the same was commissioned in June, 2018. Thereafter, the installation and commissioning of 1 MWp ( 500 KWp x 2) was undertaken under the guidance, approval and supervision of the New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP), which is the nodal agency set up by the State Government and the same was commissioned in August, 2019. Both the rooftop solar power plants were set up and operated as Off-Grid solar power plants under Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) mode by M/s.Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd., being the successful bidder identified by ‘SECI’ under competitive bidding and Power Purchase Agreements were entered into for the energy generated and delivered by the said entity from the rooftop solar power plants in the petitioner’s premises for consumption by the petitioner through the dedicated internal electrical lines within the petitioner’s premises. The energy generated from the rooftop solar power plants was conveyed to various load centers within the petitioner’s premises through dedicated internal electrical lines in island mode. Statutory approvals by the Chief Electrical Inspector to the Government of India under the Regional Inspectorial Organization of the Central Electricity Authority in terms of Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electrical Supply) Regulations 2010 for energizing the rooftop solar power plants were sanctioned through Letters dated 16.11.2018 and 29.09.2020. Thereafter, the energy generated from the rooftop solar plants in the petitioner’s premises has been continuously consumed by the petitioner’s loads within the petitioner’s premises through the dedicated internal electrical lines.
5. On 28.06.2022, the 4th respondent carried out a routine inspection of the service connection of the petitioner bearing No.VSPO12 and prepared an inspection report. On the
