IN THE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL FOR ELECTRICITY (Appellate Jurisdiction) APL No. 864 OF 2023 &

IA No. 2139 OF 2023 Dated: 7^th August, 2024 Present: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, Chairperson Hon’ble Smt. Seema Gupta, Technical Member (Electricity)

In the matter of:

1. UTTAR PRADESH POWER CORPORATION LIMITED Through its Chief Engineer (Power Purchase Agreements), 14^th Floor, Shakti Bhawan Extension, 14-Ashok Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh - 226001 … Appellant No.1

2. PASCHIMANCHAL VIDYUT VITRAN NIGAM LIMITED Through its Director Urja Bhawan, Victoria Park, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh – 250001 … Appellant No.2

3. PURVANCHAL VIDYUT VITRAN NIGAM LIMITED Through its Director DLW, Vidyut Nagar, Bhikharipur, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh – 221211 … Appellant No.3

4. MADHYANCHAL VIDYUT VITRAN NIGAM LIMITED Through its Director 4-A, Gokhale Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh – 226001 … Appellant No.4 VERSUS

1. AMPLUS GREEN POWER PRIVATE LIMITED Through its Associate Vice President, A-57, DDA Sheds, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi - 110020 …Respondent No.1

2. UTTAR PRADESH ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION Through its Secretary, Vidyut Niyamak Bhawan, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow - 226010 …Respondent No.2

3. UTTAR PRADESH STATE LOAD DESPATCH CENTRE Through its Director, Phase – II, Vibhuti Khand, Lucknow – 226010 …Respondent No.3

4. Noida Power Company Limited Through its Executive Officer, Commercial Complex H-Block, Alpha Sector II, Greater Noida - 201308 …Respondent No.4 Counsel on record for the Appellant(s) : Shankh Sengupta Abhishek Kumar Nived Veerapaneni Karan Arora Shubham Mudgil for App. 1 Shankh Sengupta Abhishek Kumar Nived Veerapaneni Karan Arora Shubham Mudgil for App. 2 Shankh Sengupta Abhishek Kumar Nived Veerapaneni Karan Arora Shubham Mudgil for App. 3 Shankh Sengupta Abhishek Kumar Nived Veerapaneni Karan Arora Shubham Mudgil for App. 4 Counsel on record for the Respondent(:s ) Sakya Singha Chaudhuri Avijeet Lala Astha Sharma Shreya Dubey Nameeta Singh Karan Jaiswal Ravish Kumar Aparna Tiwari Aryaman Singh Shriya Gambhir Shreevidya Nargolkar Shubham Hasija for Res. 1 C.K. Rai Vinay Kumar Gupta for Res. 2 Divyanshu Bhatt Shashwat Singh Savyasachi Saumitra for Res. 3

JUDGMENT

PER HON’BLE SMT. SEEMA GUPTA, TECHNICAL MEMBER (ELECTRICITY)

1. The instant appeal is preferred challenging the order dated 23.06.2023 passed by the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission in Petition No. 1832 of 2022, whereby the Commission has permitted banking up to 85% to Amplus Green Power Private Limited (in short “AGPL”) qua three of its customers in terms of Regulation 31(a)(ii) of the CRE Regulations, 2019.

2. The Appellant No.1 is Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (“UPPCL”), the deemed transmission Licensee for the State and Appellant Nos. 2 to 4, are Distribution Licensees in the State of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PuVVNL) and Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL) [collectively referred to as UP DISCOMs]

3. The Respondent No 1, AGPL operates a 50 MW ground mounted Solar Power Project located at Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, a captive generation project with supply tied up with 13 consumers. Respondent No. 2 is Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (in short “UPERC/State Commission”) which is the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Respondent No. 3 is the Uttar Pradesh State Load Despatch Centre (in short “UP SLDC”) and Respondent No. 4, the Noida Power Company Limited (in short “NPCL”) is also a Distribution Licensee and operates in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Facts of the Case

4. The UPERC, on 25.07.2019, notified “CRE Regulations 2019”, effective retrospectively from 01.04.2019 and valid till 31.03.2024. Under the CRE Regulations 2019, electricity banking is permitted under Regulation 31(a), which includes specific conditions; one of them being electricity banking would be permitted up to 100% contingent upon mutual agreement be