Point of Law: Provision of law it makes it unmistakably clear that a tariff order unless amended or revoked shall continue to be in force, for such period, as may be prescribed in the tariff order.

ORDER :

Cluster of these petitions raise a common issue of interpretation of a contract -Power Purchase Agreement[PPA-for Short] entered into between the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd.,[ KPTCL -for Short] and the petitioners.

2. The petitioners are companies engaged in the business of manufacturing sugar and its allied products and also produces steam and electricity through its bagasse based cogeneration units situated at respective places.

3. Since all the petitions raise a common issue, they are taken up together and disposed by this judgment.

4. The KPTCL had long ago issued commissioning certificates to bagasse based co-generation power plants. It is since then, the co-generation plants have been in the business of generation of electricity in the plants established at various places in the State. But there was no decision from the hands of the Government approving an agreement being entered into between the co-generation with the KPTCL or ESCOMs for purchase of power. It is for the first time, the Government approved purchase of power from bagasse based co-generation plants.

5. The issue in the present lis emanates from that Government Order dated 11.11.2016 issued approving purchase of power from bagasse based co-generation plants that are generating power, but did not have subsisting PPA with the Electricity Supply Companies[ESCOMs for Short]. It is after the Government Order, the respondents 2 to 6 ESCOMs entered into PPA in respect of co-generation power plants for procurement of 501 MWs. round the clock (RTC) power on medium term basis for a period of 5 years, which according to the agreement was from 02.01.2017 to 01.01.2022. In W.P.No.10349/2021, the PPA is entered into on 17.02.2017 and the claim is that it would be in subsistence for 5 years thereafter.

6. In furtherance of the PPA entered between ESCOMs and the petitioners, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission[KERC for Short] (hereinafter referred to as the ‘KERC’ for short) passed an order determining the tariff for purchase of power from bagasse based co-generation power plant on 11.04.2017.

7. During the subsistence of the aforesaid events -i.e., the agreement and the determination of the tariff by the Commission, the petitioners submitted certain representations to draw power in terms of the PPA till the expiry of its validity i.e., 1.1.2022, on an apprehension of foreclosure of the PPA. That representation having not met its consideration at the hands of the respondents filed a writ petition in W.P.No.15677/2020 to consider the representation and declare PPA to be valid till 1.1.2022. In the wake of the respondents continuing to accept the power beyond 1.1.2021 the petitioner withdrew the writ petition to approach this Court in the case of need.

8. Long after the aforesaid proceedings, the second respondent-Corporation issued a communication on 06.03.2021 KERC for Short contending that the PPA was valid till 31.03.2021 and the Corporation would not be liable to pay for the energy injected by the petitioner with effect from 01.04.2021 onwards. It is this communication that is called in question by the petitioners in this writ petition.

9. Heard Sri.P.N.Manmohan and Sri.Shridhar Prabhu, learned counsel appearing for petitioners in these cluster of petitions, Sri.S.Sriranga, learned counsel for the Corporation and Sri.B.N.Prakash, learned counsel for the Commission in all these cases.

10. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, would in unison, submit that the agreement that was entered into between the Corporation and the petitioners is to be construed to be in subsistence for a period of 5 years from the date of commissioning/commencement of the agreement and not in terms of what is indicated in the term of agreement and would submit that 5 years has to commence from the date on which the commencement of power supply happened after ent